Love Us Both
by taylor'sbaby1
Summary: Zakiya Umo was never someone who didn't accept the outcasts. Being one herself, she knew all about ridicule firsthand, but can she love the one person who matters most, when things become just a little too much for her to accept?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey everyone! I know that I have two other stories that I have yet to finish and one on temporary hiatus, but seeing as I am a total Team Switzerland and wanted Jacob to have some happiness of his own, I decided that making a story just for him would be awesome! This has been plaguing my mind for a while, and I think it will be the perfect cup of tea that will get me out of my writers block for Why Did I Get Married and Hidden. I really hope you all will like this story! Pictures are on my homepage, just look for the title Love Us Both and all the pictures will be on there.**

**The Twilight Characters are Stephanie Meyer's, the rest are mine!**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>ZPOV<p>

"Come on, Zakiya, you can do this! Just breath." I told myself, as I looked around the corner of the hallway in my parents' house. "It's now or never."

"Come out, come out, where ever you are!" The deep voice rumbled as he walked closer. As soon as I saw the tip of his black boot, I swerved from around the corner and attacked.

I grunted at the continuous attempts to defeat this powerful opponent, but it seems that, again, I would be the one to suffer.

But one day, and one day soon, this man will be mine. And I will stand over his dead carcass and wave my weapon in victory!

I screamed at the fatal blow to my side. If felt like slow motion as I fell to the ground. All I could see was the sick smile the man wore as he watched me fall.

It is done…for now.

The man cackled as he took off his mask.

"That's not fair, daddy! You always win." I whined as I threw my light saber to the side.

He did nothing but chuckle as he lifted me from the ground.

"Well, I warned you that I was the Jedi master in High School when you were younger, but you continue to try and fight me." He laughed.

"One day, father, one day I will be the one to help _you_ off the floor." I promised as I looked towards the ceiling dramatically.

"Okay, you two, dinner's ready. Now put your gear away and wash your hands." My mother, Aoki, laughed.

She had the prettiest laugh I've ever heard, I reminisced as I put my stuff back into my closet and washed my hands. She was beautiful too! I had her emerald green eyes and was blessed with her curvy body. Yes, people, I was a thirty four D cup. Jealous, yet? If not, then let me inform you about my fantastic ass that had just the right amount of BA BAM!

Yes, I know your jealous now.

My mother is half Caucasian South African and half Hawaiian. My father was a full blown Quileute Native American. That's why we live in La Push, this is his home, and it's been mine since I was born. I could never think about being anywhere else but here. His long black hair mixed with my mother's light brown hair, made my mahogany hair. How's that possible, you ask? Well, apparently I have my great grandmother's hair color on my father's side. I wasn't complaining though. I loved it. It reached all the way down to my butt, and was thick with natural curls. The only hell it ever caused me was in the mornings when it looked like a family of possums made a nest in it.

The delicious aroma coming from our kitchen carried me down stairs, where my mother was fixing my father's plate. She put two smothered pork chops and a bunch of white rice with gravy on his plate, but we both knew he would be coming back for more later. That man ate like he's been walking the desert for years with no food or water.

"You can glare at me all you like, Zakiya, I won fair and square." My father, Luca, chuckled. "Feed your dog, by the way." He gave me a warning glance.

"I know, I would never forget about Shango!" I cooed and bent down to run my hand through our white and grey half husky half wolf's fur. His icy blue eyes pierced my soul as he licked my face. I just love my baby!

Well, it's not a baby, but you get my drift. Unless, you don't get my drift and actually think I'm feeding a baby dog food. It's an understandable mistake.

I took his bowl and filled it with the dog food that we make ourselves. There was no way in hell we were going to feed my baby with that processed shit. I didn't trust it as far as I could throw it.

I'm horrible at throwing things, just in case you're wondering.

After making sure Shango had his food and water, I grabbed my own plate and joined my family at the dining room table.

"So, are you excited for tomorrow? First day of school, you're a junior now!" my mother squealed.

I laughed as I took a bite of the tender pork chop.

"I guess, I'd be more excited if it were my senior year, but I guess I can live with being a junior…for now." I smirked.

"Are you picking up your friends tomorrow?" my father questioned.

Let me tell you a little about my father before we continue.

Now, there's something that always intimidated people when they saw my father. It could be his 6'7'' height, the fact that he had big muscles, or the way his dark brown eyes could make you tell the truth against your will. I had no idea. I personally thought he was a secret Samurai and it would soon be my turn to take over the family business of defeating the elusive black robed ninjas that constantly watched our family, waiting for a good time to strike. Every time I asked him about this he would just roll his eyes and chuckle.

It wasn't a no, though, so the option is still open.

"No, only Mimi. The rest are going to take the bus as punishment for standing me up at the movies." I growled. That'll show them, that bus was a cess pool of walking STD ridden students and it smelled like ass.

With only a shaking of their heads, we returned to our meal, too enthralled in the tenderness of the pork chops, pepper and buttered white rice, and creamy, spicy gravy to talk anymore. My father had gotten two more plates, like I thought he would. He could be so predictable sometimes.

I helped with the cleaning after dinner and headed for bed. _Apparently_, I had a big day tomorrow. Personally, it was just junior year, but my parents wanted me well rested and alert. I, on the other hand, knew that if I didn't get enough sleep, it would be hell to try and get me up when my alarm went off, because all I would do is throw it out my window, and watch with great pleasure as it plummeted to its shattered demise like the other thirty alarm clocks, before returning to bed.

As you can see, I'm not a morning person.

I did all my business in the bathroom, I'm not going to tell you what I did, it's my business alone, before laying down in my king sized bed and drifting off to sleep. I had to have a king sized bed, I had fallen off all of the beds that were smaller than this, because of my wild sleeping. And when I had broken my elbow falling off the queen sized bed, it was the last straw for my dad; not that I noticed it was broken until my mom came to wake me up off the floor and tried to help me up by pulling my arm, causing me to scream bloody murder. Let's just say I said all the curse words in the dictionary and made some up on my own.

What felt like an hour later, I was being awakened by my blasted alarm clock shrilling Judas by Lady GaGa.

I dragged myself to my big walk in closet and tried to decide what type of style I wanted for today. I had broken all my clothes up into categories. There was my punk rock, tomboy, goth, hobo, gypsy, bohemian, which was broken into two subcategories, my rugged Boho look and Boho chic , and finally, my gangsta category. For today, I decided to go with Boho Chic.

Putting on a brown tank top and then my 60's Dashiki mini dress that reached just above my knees, I threw on my burnt orange gladiator sandals and walked to the bathroom. After brushing my teeth and washing my face, I applied eyeliner, mascara, and lip gloss; I wasn't a very make up type of person. I applied soft curls in my hair and pushed down my burn orange circular headband to the middle of my forehead.

I grabbed my bag and keys and ran down the stairs.

"Good morning all!" I yelled once I entered our Sci-Fi styled kitchen; my father was kind of a geek, but I got it from him, so I loved the kitchen.

"Someone's cheery." My mother laughed before handing me a granola bar and a glass of milk. I hated breakfast, whoever said it was the most important meal of the day was lying! You try going through the whole day without lunch or dinner and then figure out which meal is more important than the other. It's a conspiracy among meals is what it is.

"Cheery? Not exactly, but I am excited to see my friends." The last few weeks of summer was spent in California where my older brother, Teddy, was working on his acting career. Don't call him that though, his real name is Ted, but I'm the only one who can call him Teddy.

"Well, you better get going then." She smiled after kissing my cheek and putting my glass in the sink. My father was already at work, with him owning the most popular Lodge Hotel in the Olympic Peninsula, he was always busy, but not too busy for family. That's what I love most about him, he would be dog tired when he got home, but always made sure that we at least spent an hour together as a family.

I drove off in my black Mazda 3 car I got for my birthday a couple of months ago, and headed towards Mimi's house. I didn't even bother to honk, she was already waiting for me on her front steps, and quickly ran to my car in all her excitement. With her straight black hair, light russet skin, pearly white teeth, and chocolate brown eyes, Mimi was the most beautiful Pocahontas in La Push. Not that girls here are ugly, it's just that anyone who met Mimi is astounded by her beauty first, before they are able to actually talk to her.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so excited for school! Aren't you? Oh, I've missed you so much, what did you do in California? I hope you took pictures, I want to see them later! Did you meet any celebrities? How…"

"Mimi!" I yelled through my laughter. I swear she was the most energetic girl in the world seven thirty in the morning. "Yes, I'm excited, I'll tell you later what I did, there's plenty of pictures, and I saw a few celebrities." I answered all her questions. Not just anyone could do that. You had to be skilled in the language of Mimi, or you would have missed everything she said.

I know, I'm talented; it's a blessing and a curse.

She squealed loudly as we pulled into the parking lot of La Push High. Unique name, right?

As soon as I parked, we were attacked by our two other best friends, Sai and Bobby. Sai was the only foreigner at our school, with being Chinese, she was a target to hump by all the 'popular' boys, but like the warrior she is, she never gave in. Not like the other leg spreading skanks here who wanted to be popular. Bobby, was made an outcast in middle school. He's gay, and has been since as long as he can remember. No one wanted to be around him, but I saw something special in him, and instantly fell in love with my Cher wannabe.

We were formally known as the Fantastic Four in our minds, in others, we were the outcasts who nobody wanted to touch with a fifty foot pole. I couldn't care less though, I loved who we were.

"You explain why we take bus?" Sai demanded as she looked down at me with her hands on her hips. Her almond eyes were squinted into a dangerous glare; one that only enhanced her Asian qualities. She was only 5'4'', but compared to my 5'0'', she was still tall enough to have to look down at me.

"Well, you two stood me up at the movies and didn't even call to tell me, and then I have to find out that you went to a party instead! One that I heard you were kicked out of." I glared right back.

Her glared ceased to exist, instead she had the decency to look a little ashamed.

"It was Bobby's idea." She ratted and pointed to a now tomato faced Indian who was about to get a good tongue lashing!

"Explain yourself!" I demanded as we headed towards the office to get our schedules.

"W-Well, I d-didn't think th-that you wanted to go! In f-fact I knew you would t-try and tell us n-not to go!" he scrambled to explain himself.

"Of course I would have tried to talk you out of it, and not because I wouldn't have wanted to go! I would have already known that we would have been kicked out. We are the outcasts! More popular than the marching band members, but less popular than the stoners." I said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"I know, I know, it's just that…I was hoping something would have changed." He sighed as his face fell into a frown. "Maybe it's time for me to change." He whispered.

I sighed and stopped walking, "Nothing about us has to change. While everyone else is trying to act like someone else, we act like ourselves twenty four/seven. I'm happy with who I am, and you need to be too. There is nothing wrong with you, the only thing that's wrong is that these kids are too busy trying to be popular instead of just being who they are. We all know that when they go home, they act totally different. In reality, everyone here is an outcast, the only difference is we aren't hiding it." I smiled as I hugged my best friend.

His arms tightened around me while he placed his cheek on top of my head, "Thank you." I could feel his cheeks raise into a smile, so my job here is done.

"No problem, but let me give you a word of warning. You ever do that to me again, and I'll rip your whitey tighty's right off of you wedgie style, you got me?"

I could hear him gulp as he nodded his head.

"Good." I said and walked into the office. We grabbed our schedules and compared them. I had English and Spanish with Mimi and Bobby, and History and Art with only Sai. I had best friends in all my classes except Math! This might just turn out to be a good year.

We walked Sai to class before going to our homeroom, English, chatting about what we did for those last few weeks separated. Well, I was actually separated, they hung out and had a great time; I wish I had been there with them, but I couldn't regret my time in California, it was just too much fun!

English and Spanish passed in a blur of introductions, syllabuses, and classroom etiquette. I felt as if time had been sped up! Before I knew it, I was sitting alone in Math class, all the way in the back. Of course, the students made faces at me and called me names ranging from dork to worthless, but I didn't pay attention to them. You eventually get used to those names when they're unchanging for the past two years.

I even had a few paper balls thrown at my head. Savages is what they are! But I still ignored them, no matter how much I wanted to use my nails to dig a hole through their stomach, pull their entrails out, and use them as double dutch ropes.

I continued to look through the book, Romeo and Juliet, we got from English class. I had already read it a few times; it was one of my favorite stories, but once more wouldn't kill anyone. At least not that I know of. If someone does die because I read this book one more time, I am truly sorry; I didn't know your survival was based on my actions, and I will avenge your death. I have a feeling you died at the hands of those pesky ninjas!

Damn you ninjas!

Ms. Green was ten minutes into her explanation when the door to the classroom swung open and in walked the most beautiful boy, no, definitely not a boy, _man_ I had ever seen. But there was something in this man's eyes as he explained to the teacher why he was late, something that broke my heart. He was very sad, there was no light in this his eyes, they were completely…dead. It actually made me shiver a little.

There was a simultaneous sigh from the girls as he walked down the aisle to the only available seat…next to me!

"Please, refrain from being late to my class again, Jacob Black." Ms. Green said before continuing on with the class, but she had officially sent me into complete shock.

This man was Jacob Black? That's impossible! I may not have seen Jacob extensively for the last two years, since middle school, but I have seen him around a little during the end of the sophmore school year, and he sure as hell was not that big!

This Jacob Black had muscles on top of his muscles! His tight black T-shirt only served to accent every line on his body, unfortunately, it was loose enough around the stomach to hide his abs, but I could only imagine that he had a six pack! Jacob's black hair was still long, going past his shoulder blade and stopping at the beginning of his biceps, but it wasn't framing his baby face anymore. Instead, it framed a chiseled jaw, strong neck, and perfect bone structure.

Hot damn, this boy had gotten hot since his disappearance, but I knew I had no chance with him, so I turned back to my book and read. A guy like that would definitely only want the prettiest and most popular girls, aka, Diana. In my eyes, that girl was nothing but fake, from her now blonde hair, bigger chest, smaller nose, and orange skin, to her blue contacts, miniskirts, and hooker heels. Not to mention the pounds of makeup that was slathered on that girls face, but that didn't stop the majority of the boys here, most of them had already been personally acquainted with her lady bits on more than one occasion. I'm sure it will be no different for Jacob.

I sighed in relief when the bell for lunch rung. My friends and I never ate in the cafeteria, choosing to eat in the Art room instead; the teacher was my aunt after all.

I waited until everyone was out of the room before walking out myself and to my locker. My friends would meet me here, and we would walk there together, so no one was cornered by themselves. I was the only one with a self-defense background, which automatically made me the protector.

You wanted to fuck with friends, you were going to have to kill me first.

I stuffed the books I got today in my locker, but accidently dropped one, causing it slide to the middle of the hallway. Thank God, everyone was already gone to the cafeteria. I bent down to pick it up, when a large hand beat me to it. I guess I wasn't so alone after all. I waited for the hand to smash the book in my face, but to my utter surprise, it just picked up! My eyes slowly began to run up the body of the boy who had picked up my book, until I had come face to face with none other than Jacob Black.

He handed me the book quietly before turning to walk away.

I wracked my brain for something to say, until I finally came up with the words "Thank you." I even threw in a smile to show my gratitude!

Good Job, Zakiya, I internally said to myself as I mentally patted my back for my achievement. I expected Jacob to say 'you're welcome' or something, but instead, all he did was stare at me with his mouth wide open and eyeballs about to fall out of his head.

"Zakiya, let's go!" Mimi yelled from down the hall. Side stepping the now statued Jacob Black, I waved a little, threw my book in my locker, and high tailed my ass out of the hall way.

"Who was that?" Mimi giggled as we caught up to our friends.

"You wouldn't believe me even if I told you." I sighed. We waited in line for our lunch, of course, being pushed and skipped, before we could finally collect our own greasy slice of pizza, juice, fruit, and bag of chips.

We walked all the way to my Aunts room, where she was currently wearing a white jumpsuit to cover her clothes, and painting on a canvas.

"Auntie!" I sang operatically as we entered. My Aunt Jeanie just laughed and shook her head while greeting us.

Of course, we talked about all things Sci-Fi and comics! Comic con for the Green Lantern was coming to Seattle Washington and all our parents agreed that we were allowed to go with at least one adult present, and that would be my father, cause he was just as much of a dork as we were!

By the way, in case you were wondering, this is the only reason why Mimi is an outcast. When she found out that we were Sci-Fi dorks like her, we became instant friends. You could say that she was the 'newest' to the group, having joined us freshman year, whereas the rest of us had been best friends since middle school.

We talked about our Green Lantern T-shirts that we got and how we were going to personalize them, deciding that it would be a secret until it was Comic Con time.

Before I knew it, I was sitting in History class with Sai discussing the authenticity of P.F. Chang. Unfortunately, it was interrupted by the teacher telling us about what we've already heard four times already, but it didn't seem to stop Mr. Owen. Luckily, I was able to drown out his monotonous droning long enough for the bell to ring.

Sai and I happily chatted all through Art class, seeing as my aunt didn't go through all that crap the other teachers did, instead she made us draw our most favorite event that we did over the summer.

I was in heaven as my pencil scratched the surface of the thick white sheet of drawing paper. My experiences becoming more than just a memory, but a piece of art as I put the finishing touches on the landscape of the beach.

"Beauitful." My auntie sighed when she passed. Art has always been my thing; something that was personally special about me. I wasn't great at a lot of things, but art didn't fall under that subject. If I do say so myself, which I do all the time, I'd like to think that I'm a modern day Picasso!

All too soon, the bell rang for the end of the day. Sai and I packed our things and left quickly, trying to beat the rush to the parking lot, but of course, since we are considered to be invisible, we were pushed and pulled until we were all the way at the back.

Ugh, barbarians, all of them!

Mimi and Bobby were already standing by my car when Sai and I were able to escape from the Christmas rush.

"Hey, the La Push Gang is staring at you." Mimi whispered when Sai and I got to them.

I turned around and followed her eye line to see that they were in deed all looking at me. And low and behold, who would also be a part of the La Push Gang other than Jacob Black himself. Actually, they all kind of looked alike. If it weren't for the fact that he was the only one there with long hair, I would have thought they were all Jacob.

Shrugging my shoulders, I got into the driver's seat and drove off as soon as everyone was locked in.

"That was weird." Bobby said accusingly as he stared at me.

"You guys remember Jacob Black? He was the one with the long hair." I confessed.

"WHAT?" They shouted all at once.

"That's impossible! He-He was smaller than that last year! Much smaller." Mimi said as she shook her head.

I looked at her through the rearview mirror and shrugged. I didn't have any explanation for his sudden full body growth spurt other than steroids.

My friends continued to talk about the wonder of Jacob Black as we entered my kitchen, while I wondered about the look he gave me. Ever since then, every time I even thought about him my stomach would do flip flops, but not the bad kind when you eat too much spicy food at the Indian restaurant down the street. The good kind, when it flutters like…like someone tickling your insides with a feather.

"Hey kids!" my mother greeted us with the laundry basket filled with folded clothes in her hand. We greeted her enthusiastically, mostly because we wanted her to make us a delicious snack, but also because we all really loved her. Me the most obviously.

"Zakiya, don't get undressed. Daddy's going to be home early and we're going out to eat in celebration tonight." She smiled.

"What are we celebrating?" I ran through all the important dates in my head, but it wasn't any one's birthday and it wasn't my parents' anniversary.

"You know that magazine 'Washington's Best'? Well, they voted your father's Lodge the second best in all of Washington, so we're going out to celebrate." She squealed and I couldn't help but to join her. I always knew my father was great, but being crowned as the second best in all of Washington state just solidified it. "Oh, you kids should join us! You gave him so many good ideas for the Lodge that made it a success, and he really wants to share this with everyone." My mother added.

Instantly, my friends and I started to jump up and down excitedly. This was turning out to be a great day indeed! Well, other than the whole Jacob Black scenario, but I can wonder about that later.

My friends and I decided to chill in the game room until my dad got home. It was actually our basement, but my dad completely renovated it to make it into this wicked arcade room. What's even more awesome is that one of the entire walls is a green screen for all different types of virtual reality games. I was currently in Aspen skiing in the Olympics.

Before I knew it, my father came bounding down the stairs screaming. We joined in on the celebration, dog piling on him in a heap of laughter and cheers.

"I'm so proud of you, daddy, I knew you could do it." I laughed.

"Thank you, baby girl, that means so much to me." He whispered as he kissed my forehead.

I remember a time in our lives where my father would come home almost in tears. He was always worried that he wouldn't make it, that he would have to sell everything, and we'd lose our house. He had spent all their life savings on that Lodge, a dream that he was beginning to regret, but my mother always encouraged him to keep going, and that there would be a day where we wouldn't have to worry about when the next meal would be coming or if we would be able to pay the bills.

It was like she as psychic, because by a stroke of luck, a celebrity broke down near his lodge, and had to stay the night. My father made sure to give him the best of the best, and when she left, she spread the word of my father's lodge, and soon anyone who was anyone was staying at my father's lodge when they passed through.

It was truly a blessing in disguise, but one that I know my father greatly appreciated.

"Okay, everyone, let's go to our favorite diner!"

My parents rode together while I drove my friends and I to our favorite diner in La Push. We had been going there every time we had something to celebrate, and soon it became a tradition, one that I hope I'll pass down to my children one day.

To my utter horror, my family and I pulled into the parking lot and parked, right when the La Push Gang was getting out of their cars. Well, the La Push Gang , plus Kim Comwell, who I am now assuming is dating one of the members, because one of them had their arms around her. Then there was a beautiful woman who had three deep scars on her face from her eye all the way down her cheek, and a man in a wheelchair with salt and pepper hair rolling towards the door.

If the La Push Gang was here then that meant Jacob was here. Without a moment to waste, I hauled my ass in the diner with my friends behind me. My parents on the other hand decided that it would be cool to make nice with the band of rough riders and their peeps.

Wait Zakiya, you don't even know if they are an actual gang. You always say don't judge a book by its cover and yet you are doing the very thing with those Native American Hulks.

I watched in amusement as my parents laughed with them, but became curious when my mother squealed and grabbed Jacob in a bone crushing hug, causing everyone to burst out in laughter. As if they could feel my stare, they all looked through the window and at me, just…_staring_!

It was creepy.

My father raised his hand and signaled for me to come out there with them. He must have been out of his cotton picking mind if he thought I wasn't going to at least bring some back up with me! I was weaponless if I decided to go out there, and my amazing Samurai powers have yet to be bestowed upon me. I had a feeling that before that could happen, I would have to learn some type of life lesson that would inevitably save the world and all its inhabitants, but until that happened, I decided that Mimi was good enough to be my plus one in this situation.

I grabbed her arm and dragged her out with me, though she protested heavily; I just acted as if I couldn't hear her or feel her continuous pinches on my upper arm.

I let go of Mimi when we reached my parents, but the staring never ceased, causing me to stand a little behind my father, just in case they were trying to use some type of mind control technique I was unfamiliar with.

My father wrapped an arm around my waist and brought me from behind him and in between my mother and him.

"Come on, Zakiya, you've never been the shy type." He teased. That got me a little miffed.

I sniffed, "Well, when a bunch of people you don't know do nothing but stare at you intensely, then you'd be nervous as well." I shot back with my chin held high and closed eyes.

I could hear the old man's rubbling laughter, which caused me to open my eyes and look at him quizzically, "She is definitely your daughter Luca!" he said.

My father nodded his head proudly, "She sure is, but she got her sassiness from her mother." He chuckled.

I crossed my eyes in frustration. All I wanted to do was go sit down and order my food in celebration, not be talked about like I wasn't _clearly_ standing in front of them all.

"Zakiya, this is an old friend of mine Billy Black, Jacob Black's father. I heard you two had a run in today." Luca chuckled. I acted as if my face wasn't turning an embarrassing shade of red and shook Billy's hand.

I looked behind me to introduce Mimi as well, but saw that she had already escaped back inside.

A coward is what she is! Leaving me all by myself to defend my honor, what a great friend! I tell you what folks, when you make best friends, make sure they will stick with you even in the most awkward of events.

My father proceeded to introduce me to Sam Uley, Emily Young, Jared Cameron, Kim Comwell, Paul Lahote, Leah and Seth Clearwater, Quil Ateara, Brady Fuller, Collin Littlesea, "And of course you know Jacob Black." My father smirked as if he knew a secret I didn't, while everyone snickered.

"Am I missing something?" I glared at them all, shutting them up quickly.

"No, sweetie, of course not." I mothered smiled, but I could see right through her.

I sighed frustratingly and ducked from my under my father's arm, turning to go back into the diner. My parents knew just how much I hated when I was left out of something, especially when it has something to do with me.

"It was nice meeting you all." I said monotonously and walked back over to my friends. If they want to act like I'm completely stupid, then I don't want anything to do with them!

My friends had already ordered all of our food and drinks, seeing as we always got the same exact thing every time we came here. I gladly dug into my hamburger and fries, completely ignoring my parents when they came back to sit with us.

"Don't you think you acted a little rude, Zakiya." My father said as he began to eat as well.

"I find it to be extremely rude to laugh at someone, and then act like it never happened when that person can clearly see that everyone there is keeping a secret." I said in annoyance.

"Zakiya, it is a secret that has to do with you, but you're not ready to find it out yet. You're just going to have to wait, but I promise you that you'll find out soon enough." My mother said as she hugged me from the side. I laid my head against hers and nodded.

The subject was soon dropped and we began our celebration as intended, chatting animatedly about everything that came to mind, but I kept seeing my father shoot glances over to Black's table.

It was strange to say the least.

After my father paid the bill, we all left. I kept shooting questioning glares over at Black's table, but it didn't even faze them. Instead, it seemed to amuse them as they all waved goodbye to me. Well, all except Jacob who winked, causing me to blush deeply and all but run out of the diner. I could see them laughing through the window as I jumped into my car.

I drove my friends home, before going home myself. I couldn't think straight! All I could think of was how sexy Jacob looked when he winked.

Ugh! Stupid Black!

I took an extremely hot shower, hoping it would scorch the feelings I was having out of me, but only made me think about how sexy Jacob must look with steam all around him and water droplets cascading down his muscular body.

I groaned and hopped out, disappointed that the only thing I felt after that shower was horny.

Throwing on my pjs, I went to bed, hoping for a peaceful sleep.

The only thing I got were sappy dreams filled with a certain Jacob Black.

I yanked my alarm clock off of my nightstand and chucked it out the window for its incessant beeping six thirty in the morning! Whoever created that ghastly contraption to be beaten and stoned!

There was no use in trying to go back to sleep anyway, it wasn't like I had any success with it. They were filled with Jacob, wolves, and this one girl with brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. I didn't know her, but I had a feeling she was the reason why Jacob had such sorrowful eyes.

I got up and dressed, deciding that today, I just wanted to be comfortable. I put on a pair of black skinny jeans and a white tunic. I threw on my black and white converses, and put my hair up in a high pony tail. I forgone putting on makeup and chose to just wear lip gloss instead after brushing my teeth and washing my face. I was tired, and trying to look anything else _but_ tired would a) take too much effort, and b) was a crime. I wanted everyone to know that today was not a day to mess with me, as the whole school had figured out that a tired Zakiya was a nasty little bugger.

Let's just say, Diana learned the hard way that I wasn't a nice person with only two hours of sleep. It took her a week to get the garbage smell off her skin and out of her hair.

Grabbing my jacket, keys, and book bag, I was set to pick up my friends and head for school. Of course, they all sensed my lack of enthusiasm, and decided that leaving me to my inner peace was the most safest thing to do for their health.

I couldn't have taught them any better.

Parking in my usual spot, the one farthest away from school and closest to the exit, my friends and I hung around and talked about nothing in particular. Well, they talked, I scowled at the ground and mentally cursed at it to the deepest plane of Hades.

"Zakiya, if you glare at the ground any harder, it'll melt into lava." Bobby giggled as he threw his arm around my shoulder. "Come on, baby cakes, tell big daddy what's the matter." He cooed.

I rolled my eyes and threw his arm off of me, "Nothings the matter, I just didn't get enough sleep and I'm tired as fuck, so if you don't want to be scratching your prostate with that hand, I'd advise you to back off." I grumbled.

I knew it was mean to act like this, but doesn't every girl deserve to have an off day every once in a while?

My attitude didn't seem to faze Bobby, he knew when I was tired and when something was bothering me, so like any gay best friend would do, he pestered me.

I stood there in all my irritation as he poked and prodded me, flicked my pony tail, pinching my cheeks, and playing with my lips to try and get me to spill. Really, all he was doing was giving himself a first class trip to hell in a hand basket. He was _pissing me off_!

"Come on, Bobby, she no feel well, leave her alone!" Sai said as she pushed Bobby away from me.

I could have kissed Sai in all her adorable broken English glory! Her English wasn't bad, she still had a few things to work on, but she is a stubborn Chinese person and refuses to go to a class. Instead, she teaches herself English by watching PBS, where Sesame Street and Clifford the Big Red Dog comes on.

Hmm, maybe I should give you a little entail as to how Sai, pronounced like Sigh instead of Say just in case you didn't know, it's a common mistake most people would make, ended up in La Push.

Ms. Sai Mei Lee-Jones was adopted at the ripe age of ten by a Mr. and Mrs. Jones, two Native American Quileutes from La Push. Her parents died in a crash, them being hit by a runaway bus when they were riding their bikes to work. She was then taken to an adoption agency as neither of her parents had siblings and both sets of grandparents were dead. A Mr. and Mrs. Jones were on a vacation in China, but had heard of this sad story via newspaper. They, themselves, are unable to have children, but apparently, when they saw the picture of Sai in the newspaper, they knew that she was the perfect child for them. At the time of the crash, she was nine, but a year later, by the age of ten, she was in La Push, and living a happy life.

Now, let me fill you in on what was happening while I was telling you the story of Sai. The bell rang, so Bobby, Mimi, and I walked to our first period, and we are now listening to our teacher drone on about nothing.

I just thought you should know where we're at in the story, just in case you get confused about my complaints of the teacher's extremely boring voice when just mere seconds before, I was explaining Sai's life to you.

I swear my eyes couldn't role any further to the back of my head, and my mouth couldn't hang any wider with any more drool dripping down my chin, but if Mr. Melino talked anymore about the history of Shakespeare, I will be dragging my jaw behind me in a wagon.

I thanked the bell gods who allowed me to escape this monotonous man when I realized I still had three other classes to get through that weren't particularly my favorite before I get to Art class. I sighed heavily, and dragged my tired body from class to class, telling myself that beating my head until I was unconscious would give no one but the popular kids pleasure, but as each mocking tick of the clock went by, I started to care less about who would get pleasure from what, and started staring at my hardback Spanish book with raw desire.

An hour and fifteen minutes of each class would be torture for anyone!

I internally cheered and wiped the few joyful tears that ran down my cheek when that beautiful lunch bell rang, signaling my forty five minute escape from hell.

Sai was already standing by my locker. She exhaled when she saw me coming, and gave me a big smile. My heart warmed a little for my best friend, she was truly good from the inside out, but scary as hell when you pissed her off. That girl had a set of lungs, and even with her broken English, you still were able to get the jest of what she's screaming about.

Sai and I chatted lightly as we waited for Mimi and Bobby to arrive, but her sudden end in conversation made me tense as she stared behind me. I turned around to see that a few of the La Push Gang members were behind me, well, more specifically, Jacob and two of his other friends—Em something and Quick? Quiz? I didn't really care. The only thing I cared about was that Em kid staring weirdly at Sai, the same look Jacob gave me, and was making her uncomfortable.

She turned beat red and took a step behind me, immediately pissing me off. I snapped my fingers in front of Emory's, Embry's, Emmy's face? I don't give a shit! I snapped my fingers in front of his face and made him look at me.

"Yo! Emmy? Emory! Em-something-or-other! Don't be givin' _my_ best friend that weird look and make her uncomfortable or you're gonna be dealin' with me! You got it, punk?" I all but shouted and dragged Sai away, ignoring Jacob's pleas for me to come back.

I stopped and waited for Bobby and Mimi outside of the cafeteria before we went inside and, once again, began to go through the everyday routine of being pushed to the end of the line before going to my Aunt's art class.

The only difference today was that I was going to find out what the hell was up with Jacob and that Em dude! It was one thing to make me uncomfortable, but when you add any of my friends into the mix, you were fucking with the wrong one!

The rest of the day, I was solidifying my plan of torturing the information out of Jacob. It was high time I put my samurai skills to the test. I wished I could say that my father taught me well, but with his continuous brush off of being a highly skilled samurai, I was going into this Black Op blind, deaf, and dumb.

Sai stared at me with unease as I splattered a bunch of black and red paint onto my canvas in blind rage and began to smear it around with the palm of my hands. I felt liberated as I beat my red fists onto the canvas repeatedly, imagining that it was Jacob's face as I interrogated him, the red paint representing his blood.

I was breathing heavily, mumbling under my breath and looking like a crazed woman as each random, loud cackle bubbled out of my mouth.

I pouted as I washed my hands, cursing the bell for the first time today when it interrupted my imaginary interrogation.

I dropped off my friends, taking a half our longer than I expected, since for some reason they interpreted my good mood as a sign to try and cox me into a conversation.

I pulled in front of Billy Black's home, getting the address from my mother who asked me a million and one questions as to why I wanted the address, until I lied and told her I wanted to ask Jacob on a date to which she answered me with a squeal and his address.

I cackled maniacally in my mind, not wanting to give away my arrival. I was about to knock on the front door when I heard some banging going on from behind the side of the house. I followed the sound to a garage that was slightly hidden by the forest where I could see Jacob working aggressively on a car.

I took a deep breath and steeled myself for the violent interview.

"Yo, Black!" I shouted as I stalked into the garage. He immediately dropped something in his hand and turned around stunned.

Yes, Operation Make Obvious Steroid Using Boy Spill was a go!

Hmm, I really need to work on minimizing the name, but that's unimportant for now.

He whispered my name as he gave me that weird look again.

I sighed in annoyance and waited for him to fully turn around to address me, but when he did I was stunned into silence. With him facing me, I could clearly see his bulging eight pack, as all he had on was a pair of jeans that was so far down on his waste, I could see his lovely happy trail.

I shook myself out of my stupor and stalked right up to Black. I would have loved for us to be face to face, but because I am height impaired, we were more like face to large bulging abs.

I didn't even reach his chest for cheeses sake, how was I supposed to intimidate him?

I looked around me and smiled in satisfaction when I found a stool. I dragged it over, ignoring Jacob's confused look and kneeled on it, smiling with pleasure when we were at least face to nose.

Jacob sighed, "Zakiya, what are you doing here?" he questioned me. What I wanted was an annoyed look, but instead he was gazing at me with adoration.

It was sickening!

"I want to know what everyone is keeping from me and I want to know now, Black!" I demanded.

"I can't tell you that." He smirked as he placed one hand on my waste. I smacked it off and glared at him some more, only to be answered with googly eyes and a soft smile.

I clenched my teeth in anger, I was clearly not trained enough and was losing the battle quickly.

"This is not up for discussion, I want to know what's up with you and your Em friends' weird looks at me and Sai, and why everyone else seems to be in on this little secret that I'm not allowed on!" I began to yell.

"Yet." He smiled as he leaned against his car. His black shiny hair was pulled messily into a low pony tail at the nape of his neck as short tendrils blew lazily in the breeze. If I wasn't so pissed at him, I would think he looked quite beautiful so relaxed. It took all I had not to ogle at his muscles.

"What?"

"_Yet_." He stressed, "You're not in on the secret _yet_." He corrected.

"I don't know what the hell you and my family are trying to pull, but I will get this out of you Jacob Black, now tell me what the hell is going on! First, you are giving me this weird look and now Em something is giving Sai a weird look. Make me feel uncomfortable, sure, but I'll be _damned_ if you make her feel uncomfortable too!" I hissed.

Jacob sighed as he pushed off his car and walked up to me. He bent his knees until we were face to face, so I could stare into his deep brown eyes.

"I need you to trust me and your family right now. You can't know the secret, because you're not ready. You and Sai aren't ready to know the truth, but I promise it'll be worth the wait. You're just going to have to learn patience. Can you do that for me, Kiya?" he whispered the last part as he brushed the back of his hand across my cheek softly.

There were two things that I noticed immediately, one) I normally hated people calling me Kiya, but when Jacob said it, it made my insides warm and start doing back flips. Two) whatever secret everyone was keeping, it was deep and possibly dangerous, but in that moment I knew that I would do anything that Jacob would ask of me, and that scared the shit out of me.

I sighed heavily before stepping down off of the stool and began to walk away.

"Fine, but you sure as hell better tell me!" I snapped, before looking slightly over my shoulder as Jacob chuckled, making his muscles flex and relax sexily.

"And put a damn shirt on!" I yelled before walking out of the garage and driving away.

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><p><strong>AN: I really hope you like this new story and I hope you review and tell me your thoughts. I just want to know how your feeling about it and if I should continue! Thank you so much, and until next time!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey everyone! I'm sorry for waiting so long to update, but this chapter has actually been written for a while, I just haven't posted it. Um, I don't know if people actually like this or not, so if you do, can you just drop a quick review, so I know to continue this, but I won't waist time on it, if people don't like it! Okay, enjoy this next chapter! Pics on my homepage!**

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><p>ZPOV<p>

It has been two frustrating weeks since I promised Jacob that I would wait for his secret, and I'm about done waiting.

I mean _seriously,_ how long does he think a girl should wait! I'm going out of my mind.

All he does is stare at me with googly eyes, and no matter how cute and adorable he is, it's starting to freak me out.

I'm not even going to get into how scared Sai is. She's just waiting for that Em boy to grab her, drag her into the woods, rape her, then kill her.

That's why I am not at school today on this drizzly Friday morning. Instead, I'm sitting on my bed, surrounded by all the stuffed animals I have acquired in my lifetime, which is at least two hundred, watching Dora the Explorer and eating Coco Puffs.

_.ever._

Right now, little Dora and boots are trying to get to baby Jaguar, who is stuck on a mountain. She is trying to figure out how to get there, and is now asking me if I knew someone who knew how to get to the mountain.

Of course I did, but I'm not going to tell her. He he, I'm just going to let her _squirm._

Damn, map just peaked his stupid head out of her backpack!

"Say map!" Dora yelled.

"Say map, say map!" Boots jumped up and down.

"Map!" I yelled with a mouth full of coco puffs. I spit some on my comforter, but I sure as hell wasn't going to clean it up.

"Louder!" Dora demanded, as if she didn't hear me the first time.

"Fucking map!" I screamed.

_Bitch._

"Should I be worried that your yelling at your TV?" my mother said as she walked into my room.

"That bitch is acting like she didn't hear me the first time." I grumbled as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Which it is; Dora and I go through this every week, and it's really starting to piss me off.

"Okay." My mom drew out the word, "So, why aren't you at school today?" she sat on my bed and gave me a pointed look.

"I don't want to see Jacob today." I sniffed and ate another spoonful of my chocolate delight.

"Why? Has he said something to you?"

"No, but he keeps staring at me and it's getting weird. Sai's not feeling it either, she's at home too, since that Em boy won't stop staring at her too." I looked up just in time to see my mother's happy face, but she covered it quickly.

_She knew why they were staring at us!_

Interrogation time.

I flew off my bed, placed my bowl on the nightstand, grabbed a flashlight, while turning off my TV and closing all the blinds, making sure it was dark in my room, before shining the light in my mother's guilty face.

"You know what's going on here." I said as I narrowed my eyes, "Explain!"

"I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about." She sniffed and turned her nose up. No way, Jose! I got that from her, and the only time we did that is when we are hiding something, but completely deny that we know, they know that we know what they don't know!

I hummed as I cut the flashlight on and off, making it seem like its flickering in a dark, scary room.

"I know that you know what I want to know." I whispered, narrowing my eyes even more, making her all blurry in my sight, but never the less, making me seem even more intimidating.

"If I knew what you want to know then I'd tell you what I knew, but since I don't know there is no need to know what neither of us don't know." She remained cool as a refrigerator.

"This is ridiculous!" I shouted and cut off the light before reversing everything I did to make the room dark in the first place. I grabbed my white stuffed bear that had a big, red floppy hat on her head and a red bow around her neck and walked away.

"Where are you going?" my mother asked as she followed me to the front door.

"I'm going to Sai's house!" I huffed and walked out towards my car.

"You're not going to change or put on any shoes?" she yelled from the front door.

"No! Me and Lady Puffington are out!" I shouted before flooring it out of the drive way and to my best friend's house, whom I'm sure wasn't feeling any better than me.

I parked in Sai's driveway, her parents already having gone to work, and grabbed Lady Puffington. I didn't bother knocking, knowing where they kept their hide-a-key, and yelled for her.

"Hey, Zakiya, I knew you'd come here." Sai smiled before it dropped into a frown, "This serious, you brought Lady Puffington." She said knowingly.

I huffed before plopping down onto the couch. "Of course this is serious! My family never kept secrets from me, then all of a sudden Jacob Black comes along, and it's 'make sure Zakiya doesn't find out!' all day every day." I grumbled.

"I'm sorry. You hungry?" she said, knowing food always made me happy again, but not this time. Not even my two husbands Ben and Jerry could get me out of this funk.

"No, thank you." I said before the room lapped into a silence, Sai in her thoughts, while I was in mine…and possibly hers, I wasn't yet sure how this Samurai thing went. "You wanna do something today?" I asked after a while. There's no use in wasting an impromptu three day weekend.

"Like what?" Sai asked, but looked like she wished she didn't when she saw a very mischievous smile creep onto my face.

Three hours later, I had highlighted some pieces of Sai's hair pink, blue, and green before corn rolling her entire head. She looked great! I couldn't help mentally patting myself on the back, but now that it's one in the afternoon, I was at a loss of what to do.

Bobby and Mimi still had two more hours until they got out and there was absolutely nothing to do.

"Okay." I clapped my hands before getting up and grabbing Lady Puffington, "Let's get dressed and we'll go pick up Bob and Mimi." I suggested. That should take up the rest of our time, seeing as we did all our girly talk while I was braiding Sai's hair.

She agreed and I left to get dressed. Thankfully, it stopped raining, and to my utter surprise, it was sunny outside and warm!

I quickly drove home to get ready. I brushed my teeth in the shower, not wanting to waste the time and possibly miss the sun.

I left my hair to its natural curls, and got dressed in my sunny clothes that my mom sews herself.

I decided to put on my ivory, floral print top that fringed and stopped at my belly button. There were slits in the sleeves for my shoulders to peek out of.

I put on some dark wash denim shorts and gold sandals before grabbing my sunglasses and keys. I drove like hell to Sai's house before going to the school with two minutes to spare. Sai and I leaned against the car and waited for our friends, who we were sure would be the last ones out.

We usually are every day.

Finally the bell rang. Without a moment to spare, the front doors burst open and out ran the barbarians, as if the teachers had been holding hot, scolding pokers to their throats all day, making them do their work.

_God forbid they try and get an education._

Sai and I were laughing and talking, but that soon stopped when a hot body wrapped themselves around us, asking a million and one questions.

I began to beat on this person's chest to get them to move, surprised that it was none other than Jacob Black hovering over me. I ignored his questions and started to push that Em boy off of Sai, who was shaking with fear and pleading for me to get him off her with her eyes.

"Shut up, Jacob, and get your friend!" I screamed, my constant struggling to get him to move were unsuccessful. Thankfully, Jacob woke up and pried that idiot off Sai who immediately flew into my arms. I ushered her back into my car before rounding on said idiot!

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I screamed.

"I'm-I'm sorry, I was just so worried…!"

"So you bum rush her, and grab her without so much as a request and think it's alright? Are you stupid?" I continued to shout, interrupting Em-whoever's excuse, since I was a little too preoccupied being pissed off.

Bobby and Mimi chose that time to come up to us with questioning eyes, but I gave them no chance to speak.

"Get in the car!" I yelled. I walked over to my side before looking back at those oversized dogs, "You stay the hell away from us!" I demanding before peeling out of the parking lot, leaving two disparaged, thickheaded imbeciles in my wake.

Now, some of you may be thinking, 'that was a little mean to yell at Em-something-or-other like that', but let me give you a little bit more of Sai's history and just why she was so freaked out.

Bear with me people, I promise it won't take long.

You see, as I said before, Sai is the only foreigner in La Push. Well, she's the only teenage foreigner. When you add that and cruel kids together in middle school, you get bullying. Sai was always bullied by everyone except Bobby and I in middle school. There were a few that couldn't care less who she was, like Mimi, but the majority of the students got their kicks from torturing her. They would do all the cliché things you see on TV. They threw water balloons at her, filled her locker with gooey stuff, threw her in a trash can…you get my drift. Well, the worst thing that they had ever done was lock her in the dark gym where the football team was waiting to tackle her. In my life, I have _never_ heard someone yell so loud, but I knew that it was her screaming, and I hauled ass out of my classroom and forced my way into the gym. On that day, I was suspended for three weeks, because I had kicked as much ass I could get my hands on. I broke a few bones, cracked a few ribs, and bruised a few bodies. I had never been more thankful that my parents made me do martial arts. Ever since that day, Sai has never let anyone but her parents, my friends and I's parents, and us three touch her.

And now you know why I almost went ape shit on Emily?...Emory?...Emmett?...Elmo?

_Doesn't matter._

I held Sai's hand as she calmed down, sucking in deep breaths as I explained what happened to Bobby and Mimi. They too showed Sai how much they loved her as she tried to not hyperventilate in my car. She knew if she did, I would drag her ass to the hospital where a bunch of people she didn't know would be touching her, but I sure as hell wasn't going to let her die.

"Okay, I'm driving you home." I sighed. Such a beautiful day is going to be missed.

"No! I'm fine, I promise!"

I didn't quite believe her, but I gave up anyway, deciding that a nice, relaxing walk at first beach would help calm her nerves.

We hooked arms, and walked through the sand bare foot, the waves crashing against our feet and cooling us off.

"What are you going to do about Jacob and Embry?" Mimi asked. Oh, his name was Embry…I'll probably forget it later.

"Well, after I take you all home, I'm going to Jacob's house and kicking his ass." I smirked. The mental image of me doing just that slithered into my head, and I got a sick satisfaction out of de-balling Jacob.

My friends laughed at this idea before we went on to talk about everything and nothing in particular. That was the best thing about our friendship, no matter what we talked about, we could make a great conversation out of it.

All too soon the sun began to fade, and I drove my friends home, bidding them a farewell…more like a see you tomorrow, since we pretty much saw each other every day.

I then drove to Jacob's, slamming my door a little too hard and stomping on the ground to over exaggerate my coming. There were other cars parked around the little house, possibly indicating that they were having a little shin dig, but I couldn't seem to give a shit.

I knocked on Black's door and waited for someone to answer. Hopefully, it would be Jacob so I could knee him first and ask questions later, but to my utter disappointment it was his father Bob?...Brandon?...Bryce?...Trina?...whatever, who had answered the door with a curious face.

"Hello, Ms. Zakiya, may I help you?" Trina asked. I decided to go with that name, since it was my favorite out of the bunch and I could really care less what his name was.

"Hello, Mr. Black, I am here to de-ball your son." I said politely, as if I hadn't just spoke of getting rid of Jacob's baby makers.

From the inside, I could hear booming laughter, but I didn't have enough amusement in me to smile, though Trina seemed to be getting a big kick out of this.

He ushered me inside and to the living room where the La Push Gang was lounging around with big smiles on their faces. Jacob, however, was cupping his package and shaking his head slowly.

"Yo, Black, I have a bone to pick with you along with another to break off." I spat. That sent the gang into another bout of hysterics that only seemed to be pissing me off more.

Jacob swallowed, "I thought you said everything in the parking lot." He squeaked.

"No, I said everything to Emily?...Emmett?...Em-dog?...Em-him!" I pointed to the culprit whose eye's widened, "Now, it's your turn." I turned around and stalked out of the living room.

"Let's go!" I yelled over my shoulder and walked out, since I didn't hear his massive feet following behind me.

I leaned against his car and glared as he stared at me, "You wanna tell me what the hell you were thinking?" I said calmly, even though on the inside I was seething.

"I'm sorry, I was just so relieved to see that you were okay. I was so worried, because you weren't at school and when I saw you, I just had to hold you." He quickly explained, but that was total bullshit, he barely knew me!

"So, Trina taught you nothing?" I all but shouted.

Jacob quirked an eyebrow, "Who's Trina?"

"Your father! I couldn't think of his name, and Trina was the best one out of the bunch that I thought of." Immediately, howling and cackling could be heard from the inside of the house again. Someone must have said a joke, because it was impossible for them to hear us all the way out here.

Jacob started to shake as he tried fervently to keep a smile off his face, but he was losing quickly.

"So, you couldn't think of any male names?"

I sighed heavily, "One, I thought of many names, but Trina was the best, and two, this is completely beside the point. Neither you nor Emily had any right to grab onto Sai and me, and I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't do that again."

"Embry."

"Whatever!"

Jacob sighed as he slowly began to step towards me, his silky hair blowing lazily in the breeze, "I admit that what I did was wrong, but I can't promise you that I won't ever touch you again, Kiya." He said huskily as his 6'6'' body stood over me. I almost broke my neck trying to look him in the eye.

I sighed internally, it's hard out here for us fun sized people.

"Why?" I demanded. I didn't see why it was such a struggle! He's never touched me in his life, other than that one time a couple weeks ago when he put his hot hand on my waist in his garage.

It felt good…nuff said.

"I told you that you're going to have to wait." He sighed again.

"For how much longer, Black? It's already been two weeks! By the time you tell me, I'll probably be married to that very handsome British guy from Half Moon and making babies!" I huffed.

I was going to continue, but a dark look on Jacob's face made me stop as he began to shake and stepped away from me.

"Hey, Jacob, you okay? You're shaking." I said, actually putting my anger aside and becoming concerned.

Immediately, the La Push Gang was standing behind him, as Sasha, Sid, Sa-something, pulled him farther away from me. He gave me a quick look before turning to Jake.

"Calm, yourself, Jacob, before it's too late." Sasha, I decided to call him that, said in Quileute.

"There's no use in speaking Quileute, I speak it too." I sighed, deciding that if he wanted to talk to Jacob in private that wasn't the way to do it.

Sasha nodded and patted Jacob on the shoulder when he calmed down.

"Is that who you want?" Jacob asked as he looked at me with saddened eyes.

"Confuse me?" I asked. I was now, completely baffled.

"The British guy, is that who you want?" Jacob said gravely.

I sighed heavily before placing a hand on my hip and leaning onto one foot to show that I officially meant business.

"Are you kidding me right now? You are asking me if I want a gorgeous British man with the most adorable accent who doesn't even know I exist. What Half Moon fanatic doesn't want him?" I said. "What does that have to do with any of this anyway!"

I was officially frustrated. I wasn't getting any answers, and Jacob's sudden mood change has really thrown me for a loop. The only thing I could do was rub my temples, turn around and walk to my car.

"Where are you going?" Jacob asked as he walked up to me.

"I'm going home! You're not giving me anything but a headache, so I'm ready to pop a few Aleve in my mouth, eat some pizza, and chill for the rest of the night, because this is too much."

"Look, I'm sorry, but you've got to trust me on this. You're not ready, and I doubt I've been doing the right thing in this situation anyway." Jacob said as he began to rub my temples for me.

I shook off his hands and sighed. This second visit has still gotten me nowhere. All I want right now, is some Half Baked Ben and Jerry's ice cream and a Brad Pitt movie.

But no matter how frustrated I was getting, something in me told me to trust him, and though I was now beating that something with a rusty hammer, I decided to do just what it said, but not without some conditions.

I looked back up at Jacob and nodded, "Fine, you have until Thanksgiving to tell me what the hell is going on here, that's plenty of time."

"And if I don't." he furrowed his eyebrows.

"If you don't, then there's really no reason why we should even be talking to each other if you can't trust me in return." I said and got in my car. I backed out of his driveway and watched as everyone trickled back inside.

...Well, I watched _Jacob._

...I mean, I watched Jacob's _figure._

Starting from his feet to his legs that go all the way up to make an ass out of themselves.

And one fine ass that is.

I really hoped that Jacob would trust me by Thanksgiving. That's three months away, and if he couldn't…

Just thinking of not at least talking to him was making my heart hurt. How odd.

Not to mention my hands were getting pretty pissed, they really wanted to grab that ass.

I wasn't too talkative with my parents tonight. I was too busy trying to figure out what this big secret was.

I went to bed thinking of how interesting it would be if Jacob's secret was he was in the Native American Mob, he looked like it anyway.

_It was now Saturday at midnight, and my friends and I were in the game room playing Guitar Hero! Since, I didn't see myself going anywhere, I was in a floral print, strapless romper, my hair tied back in a ponytail, and a slice of pepperoni pizza in my hand as I sung vocals on 'Don't Stop Believing'._

_._

_I was just about to sing the chorus when something hit me._

_An epiphany, if you will, is what I had._

_I suddenly realized something that had me sitting down the microphone and the half eaten slice of pizza._

_"Zakiya, what's wrong?" Bobby asked as he paused the game._

_"I just realized something you guys. I realize that there's something I want to be in my life that's not the norm. It's something off the beaten path." I whispered in astonishment._

_"What?" Mimi asked._

_"I want to be a fucking criminal." I revealed._

_Of course I was met with silence. Who wouldn't be astonished at the fuck awesome idea I just had._

_"…." Sai said._

_"Guys, I have a craving right now! I have to do a B and E!"_

_People! For those who are confused, if you are saying 'Zakiya, what is that, bacon and eggs?'. The answer is no, although I could always do bacon and eggs, that's fucking delicious. Who doesn't want to do a bacon and egg special? I'm talking about a B and E._

Breaking_ and_ Entering.

_"I need an accomplice! Bobby, you have to come with me!" I demanded._

_The key is to bring someone who doesn't want to go. That person has to hassle you the whole time and make it difficult for you to do the B and E. Personally, I think it just makes it more challenging._

_"What? No!"_

_"Come on, this will be an adventure!"_

_"I don't like adventures." He whined._

_I sighed, "I need you to drive the getaway car for the B and E!"_

_"No!" he whimpered like a scared little school girl that I knew he liked to dress up as while he's watching porn._

_"Dude, you go back to your house, put on some dark clothes, and come back or our fucking friendship is over! I will not even talk to you in the _next life_!"_

_It completely was not true, but I got my point across. An hour later, Bobby and I were dressed head to toe in all black, and getting into my car. Sai and Mimi had gone home, not wanting to be a part of this, but wanting to know every detail tomorrow._

_"Drive around the community, I want to find the perfect house to do my B slash E!"_

_"Don't do," he breathed heavily, "Don't do this. Why would you even do this?" he pled._

_"Because I need to." I looked at him sharply, "It's a quest, and I'm on it."_

_"You're gonna get in some," he moaned, "fucking trouble, dude." He said as he continued to whimper, feeding my excitement._

_"I know, I'm looking for trouble." I mumbled as I scanned the houses. "Now, pull over around this corner."_

_...And then I finally saw it._

_"That's the house right there, Bobby. That's the house I'm doing the B and E with." I smiled._

_He looked at me and started to breathe heavily, filling the quiet night with his wheezes._

_I looked at him, "I don't know what that means, but I'm still doing it." I said._

_We drove away and parked farther away from the house, about seven blocks and crept through backyards, hopping over fences and shit, and reveling in the fun._

_Well, I was reveling in the fun, Bobby was trying not to hyperventilate._

_I hopped over another fence, but stopped when I heard Bobby breathing heavily and whimpering. I turned around to see that his shirt had gotten caught on the wire fence, making a big hole in the black, cottony material._

_"No, this-this is my favorite shirt." He griped quietly, trying to release himself._

_"Well, you shouldn't be wearing your favorite shirt on a fucking B and E! Wear you_ second_ favorite shirt, you dunce!" I whispered yelled and unhooked the shirt from the offending fence._

_We finally arrived at the house, and I have to admit to you guys, my heart is beating frantically. My hands were clammy as I started to walk up that walkway, getting ready to go right through that fucking front door._

_I turned around to Bobby, "You ready to do this?"_

_"Wait!" he whispered yelled as he held up a hand in front of him, his legs spread wide apart and his knees bent as he switched from the left one to the right, "Wait!" he flailed that same hand, "I hear a car."_

_I nodded my head slowly, "Yeah, the world is full of them. You're going to hear a lot of them for the rest of your life." I said frustrated for him stopping me, "If you hear a Humpback Whale, that's weird, tell me that shit! Then I'll stop." I said before turning around and creeping towards the house._

_I walked up those three steps and stopped._

_I don't know if I can do this._

_…_

_…_

_…_

_No, I can do this! I yelled in my head and BAM, I kicked that fucking door off its hinges!_

_I was feeling so fantastic, but then something happened again. As soon as my foot connected with that door, and it flew open, I took two steps into that house and I realized at that very moment that I did not want to do a B and E._

_No._

_I just wanted to kick a door in!_

_I was still so hyped up from the door kick, there was a closet right to the left of me, and I kicked that shit in too!_

_I had to._

_I turned to Bobby and smiled, my heart beating so fast that I had to take in deep breaths before I passed out._

_"Hey, let's get out of here." I wheezed through my breaths._

_"Yeah!" he whimpered in a raspy voice, his own breath coming out in wheezes, "Yes."_

_Then we cheesed it out of there, jumping into the car and booking it the fuck out._

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

I groaned as I cut off my alarm clock.

"Ugh, what a weird dream." I moaned and got out of bed at six thirty Monday morning.

The weekend had gone by in a blur of pizza, games, movies, and homework.

I kept it simple, putting on a V-neck black and grey horizontal striped sweater blouse that was form fitting. I three on some grey skinny jeans, before putting on my black Knit-Cuff wedge boots.

I called my mom up to help me straighten my hair after brushing my teeth. It took longer than usual, though. I needed to get it trimmed, it was all the way to my ass when curly, but passed it when it was straight!

I clipped the sides of my hair back and let my bangs fall into my face. They were the only parts of my hair that I cut, and even doing that was painful.

Seeing that I had to leave in five minutes, I put on mascara, eyeliner, and lip gloss, grabbed my keys and bag and ran out of the house. I floored it to school with my friends chatting away about nothing in particular.

I was talking to Mimi when a movement from the corner of my eye caught my attention. I turned to see Jacob Black and Emily walking towards us, in what it seems to be slow motion, but I think it was just my imagination. I mean, Jacob was beautiful, but could he really defy Newton's Law of Motion with his beauty?

Possibly.

Sai walked over to me and stood a little behind my shoulder. Knowing that she was scared caused me to look from Jacobs sexy, muscular body to glare at Emily, which pissed me off even more, because I was missing the chance to watch Jacob saunter towards me!

"Hey, Zakiya." Jacob smiled a little as he bit his bottom lip softly.

I quirked an eyebrow and nodded in his direction, playing it cool of course, before turning back to Emily.

"Can I talk to you, Sai? In private." he whispered as his eyes flickered to me.

She grabbed onto the back of my shirt and shook her head no.

Emily's face dropped even more, looking as if the world was crushing him where he stood, which almost made me feel sorry for _him…almost._

"You can talk to her where you stand." I glared. Emily began to shake and growl as his eyes narrowed at me.

Jacob put a hand on Emily's shoulder, shaking him a little as if to wake him up.

"This is between me and Sai." He growled.

"It stopped being between you and Sai when you scared the shit out of her Friday!" I hissed.

As if I had slapped his across the face with a frying pan, Emily's angry façade crumbled, leaving only a lost little boy who seemed to just want the little red balloon that was tied to a chair and blowing in the breeze, but his mother kept telling him no.

I was the mama, and I'll be damned if he hurts my girl again.

That's right, Mama Bear don't play about her cubs.

"I didn't…I didn't mean to scare her, I was just worried." He said, his face falling even more as he began to turn around to walk away.

"Wait!" Sai squeaked out from behind me.

I looked at her, astonished as hell that she was about to talk to the man that almost made her have a conniption.

Emily turned back around, a little glimmer of hope shining in his eyes as he stared at my best friend.

It was a little cute.

"You can talk to me over there." She said, pointing to a spot that was only about three feet away from the car. We all would still be able to hear their conversation.

So I watched my little cub and Mr. Steroid Man walk over to the spot that she pointed to and talk in quiet whispers.

Jacob, on the other hand, had better ideas than me eavesdropping as he poked me a few times in my stomach.

"May I help you?" I asked and leaned against my car. I guess that was some invitation for him to do the same, because before I knew it, his fine ass was leaning against my door as well.

"I can't talk to a friend? We are friends, right?" I couldn't help but to stare into those deep brown eyes that held so much hope.

"Maybe, what's in it for me?" I smirked, deciding that if he was going to stick around, I might as well have some fun flirting with him.

Jacob smiled widely, his face shining with so much glee that it warmed my insides. He was like the sun or some other happy shit.

"My undying affection." He chuckled.

I smiled, "Ew, what would I want that for?"

He gasped dramatically and put a hand on his heart, "Are you saying you don't want my total adoration."

"Yes, that means you're going to be around much more than I like, and you might piss me off before those three months are up." I gave him a pointed look before turning to my friends, "By the way, these are my other best friends Bobby and Mimi. You want me as a friends, then you want them too."

My friends and I were a package deal.

Jacob shook both their hands and began a small conversation with Bobby. I don't know if he was trying to impress me or if he truly didn't mind that he was gay. Either way, he was making a good first impression.

Mimi dragged me to the side, giving me a chance to check up on Sai who was smiling a little and still talking to Emily, though there was still distance in between them.

Mimi punched my shoulder softly, bringing my attention back to her.

"Girl, Jacob is so cute, if you don't take him, I will!" she whispered with a smile. I chuckled softly and looked back towards his massive figure as he talked animatedly with Bobby about whatever.

"Even if that was true, I doubt either one of us will get a chance. He'll probably be in Diana's clutches and between her legs before we know it." I whispered back.

Strangely, Jacob's body tensed immediately. If he was angry about something, it didn't show, since he was still joking with Bobby.

Finally the bell rang, and everyone was ushered inside. Jacob didn't even say anything to me, he just walked away with a happy looking Emily, who looked like he was about to start singing the Sound of Music.

I shrugged it off. Whatever was bothering him couldn't have been something I did, since he talked to Bobby the rest of the time he was around us.

All the periods seemed to blur together like any other day. Before I knew it, I was sitting in math class, waiting for Jacob to come in.

Speak of the devil and he shall appear.

Jacob Black, and all his glory, came into class and sat down next to me. Except, he didn't even say hi to me. For the past two weeks, I've been getting a 'hi' or a 'hey' or a 'how are you', but today…nothing.

He just sat there with that angry face again, which is weird, since he was smiling with his friends in the hallway, and I even saw him say 'hi' to Bobby as I walked to my second period this morning.

"Hey, are you okay?" I finally asked, but he didn't even acknowledge me. I scoffed and rolled my eyes. "If you think I'm about to put up with you petty bullshit, Jacob Black, you have another thing coming. So, you can either a) get over whatever I seemed to do to you, or b) don't bother talking to me again." I hissed and turned to the front, just when the teacher came in and started the lecture.

When the bell rang, I grabbed my stuff and stalked out of the room, completely pissed that he was treating me this way.

I don't know if he suddenly realized that I wasn't cool enough to be his friend or if he was having a male PMS moment, whichever excuse it was, I definitely was not going to deal with it. I may not be popular, but I sure as hell can see all the looks the guys give me in school _and_ out! Jacob Black could kiss my tight, perfectly round ass, because there were plenty of other fish in the sea.

I was officially grumpy for the rest of the day, and my friends could sense that. Of course, they asked me what was wrong and all I said was 'Jacob Black's an asshole', and left it at that. When the final bell rang, I hauled ass out of the school, not letting anyone push me to the back, like I usually did, which surprised the hell out of a lot of them.

I threw my bag in the car, and sat there waiting for the rest to get in. To my utter surprise, I heard a tap on my window and turned to see Jacob looking with apologetic eyes. I locked my doors, and completely ignored him, wishing he would go away so I could stew in my anger, like beef in a pot.

"Please, open the door. I'm sorry, Zakiya, please!" he continued to beg, even when all of my friends were now in the car.

From the corner of my eye, I saw him lean his head against my window, his face towards the ground, but I could still see that his eyes were closed.

Jacob sighed, "I'm so sorry, Kiya."

Mimi awed as she punched my arm, "Talk to him!" she whisper yelled while glaring at me through the rearview mirror. I sighed and unlocked the doors, causing Jacob's head to fly up and him to smile as he watched me get out of the car.

"Kiya…" he whispered. Every time he called me that, he made me want to melt like chocolate on a hot sidewalk, but I was still mad at him.

"What was your problem?" I said, not even having the energy to yell at him. Him ignoring me really hurt my feelings, though if someone else had done it, I wouldn't give a shit.

He was turning me into a total marshmallow.

"You don't exactly whisper very well. I heard what you said about me and Diana." He said, a little bit of the anger creeping back into his eyes, but it was gone as fast as it came.

Oh, well, now I felt kind of bad.

"Crap, Jacob, I really didn't mean for you to hear that." I said.

"But you believe it." He sighed heavily and ran a hand through his long hair.

"Look, it's nothing personal, but you are considered popular, and every popular guy here has been acquainted with Diana's dangly bits." I tried to explain.

"It doesn't mean that _I_ will. Plus, I don't even want to be popular, that's just stupid." He attempted to reassure me, but I could tell that he knew that I didn't believe one word out of his sexy mouth.

I watched in curiosity as he walked up to me and toward over my body, once more melting me with his eyes.

"I promise you, Zakiya Leilani Umo, that the only girl I'm trying to make mine is you."

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><p><strong>AN: So, what do you think? I really need some reviews so I know I'm not wasting my time writing this story. If I you do like it, please tell me. Until next time.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey guys! It's been a really long time since I've upgraded this story, because I actually was going to get rid of it. I have some followers, but not many, so I don't know if its well liked, but I still like where I'm going with this, so I decided that maybe I can continue it and see how it fairs. I don't know, I guess we'll have to wait and see. I really hope you like this though, and the pics will be on my home page where all of my pictures for my stories are at, I'll post the link at the top on my profile.**

**I hope you enjoy this update! Until next time!**

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><p>ZPOV<p>

I swear my eyeballs just rolled to the back of my head. Never in my life have I been so utterly bored to the point where my eyeballs were ready to fall out and hitch hike back home.

Mr. Jean is by far the most boring, mundane teacher to have ever walked this earth. There were never any inflections in his voice and nothing to even hint that he actually likes what he's teaching! If he didn't like history, then why in the heck did he become a history teacher!

My eyes were glued to the door, willing someone to come in and shoot up the place, inadvertently shooting me in the head and putting me out of my misery.

Five…four…three…two…one…

Thank you, baby Jesus, for the bell! I grabbed my things and high tailed it out of that class, waiting by the door for Sai, so we could head to art.

"Why rush?" Sai asked as we struggled to get to art as the crowd pushed us around.

"Um…no reason, just the fact that I had to keep myself from plunging my pencil into my throat through Mr. Jean's whole lecture." I smiled cheekily, causing Sai to chuckle.

"He's not too bad…okay, he is." She said when I gave her an incredulous look.

For art class we were given an assignment where we had to make a portfolio of the ten most important people in your life, using different mediums, such as relief, pastels, charcoal, etc. The people didn't even have to be our family, they could be celebrities or animals, or whatever. We had a month to complete it.

It sounded like a really cool project! Naturally, I started off with my father, since he was the head of the house. I was finishing up his sketch when my aunt came up to me with a note and a package.

"Zakiya, can you deliver this to Coach Reese in the gym, please?" Jeanie requested with a smile.

Of course, being the nice person that I am, I accepted the task and left for the gym. Walking in, I was hit with the gross smell of sweat, B.O, and testosterone. It was weight lifting class, all the equipment was out, occupied by the teenagers who were trying to increase their muscle mass. Not surprising, there were a lot of girls in this class, whom, most were staring at the boys, pretending to exercise by holding a dumbbell in one hand and lifting it only half way, too preoccupied with their gawking.

I walked over to Coach Reese who was spotting a freshman boy on the wrestling team. Yeah, surprise, surprise, La Push actually has some sports teams.

"Coach Reese?" I said softly.

"Hmm?" he snapped his head towards me quickly, indicating that I had his attention before turning back to the boy.

"This is for you, from Ms. Jeanie." I handed him the package, leaving after he thanked me.

I was about to open the door when I heard someone calling me.

"Psst, Zakiya." I turned to see who had called me, only to be assaulted by Jacob's sweaty body. He was sitting on the bench of what looked like something to work your arms, grinning at me.

I couldn't help but to grin back and wave, trying too slow my heart down so I wouldn't go into cardiac arrest. This boy was so bad for my health. His long hair was tied loosely at the nap of his neck with skinny tendrils sticking to his sweaty forehead. I wanted so bad to smooth them out of his face, but suppressed that urge by throwing open the door and walking out quickly.

Jacob and I had become friends over these past few months, hanging out at first beach mostly or talking on the phone. It was three weeks from the Thanksgiving holiday and I was, admittedly, excited. He still hasn't revealed to me his secret, but it was finally coming…or at least I hope it was, because I would really hate to lose him as a friend.

We were no strangers about how we much we liked each other, but I refused to go out with him until he's told me his secret. I know, I know! Why wouldn't I want to date the infamous Jacob Black, the most handsome boy in the school anyway?

Well, ladies and gentlemen, it's because I want to start off our relationship on a pure note, and already knowing that he is hiding something from me is really putting me on edge. If he couldn't trust me enough to know his secret, then there is no point in a relationship.

I only had five minutes until school ended, so I didn't really see the point in immersing myself back into the project only to be interrupted again, so I packed up my stuff, talking to Sai until the bell rang.

If you're wondering about Sai and Embry, well, I shall tell you that they are friends as well. Sai still keeps space in between them, not allowing him to touch her too much, but she's coming around. I can understand her hesitancy anyway. I mean, in all technicality, we were the dorks of the school, and two 'popular' people, look wise, but not by status, were 'interested' in us.

We usually get glared at or made fun of everyday, but now, with Jacob and Embry in the equation, it has increased. Suffice it to say that Diana is not happy about this.

She, of course, tried to embarrass us on many occasions in front of the boys, even staging a fight after school in the parking lot for everyone to see. Her and her cronies tried to gang up on us, and I wasn't really feeling that…so I kicked their ass.

Thank you, martial arts training!

Jacob had to pry me off of her, after I had successfully broken her nose and busted her lip. Her stupid friends didn't even try to help her!

I got two weeks suspension for it, but thankfully, the whole school got the memo that I wasn't someone to mess with.

It didn't stop the snide comments, glares, and hassles, but at least no one has tried to touch us again.

Mimi was currently prattling on about God only knows what as I drove away from school, but my attention was stuck on my other best friend who had been out of character this whole week.

I noticed it on Monday, but didn't say anything, deciding that he would tell us when he's ready, but it was already Friday, and he still hasn't said anything.

We walked into my room, Mimi and Sai knocking all of my stuffed animals onto the other side of the bed, so they could sit while Bobby and I grabbed two of my saucer chairs, me sitting in the black one, while he took the pink.

"Okay, you, tell me what's going on." I commanded softly as I stared at my best friend.

"What are you…"

"Don't even try that mess with me, Bobby, you've been off this whole week." I warned.

"Yeah, I notice too. What's wrong?" Sai furrowed her eyebrows, while Mimi nodded, immediately quieting down with concern.

Bob sighed heavily and closed his, "I've…got a date."

It was silent for only a brief moment, until Sai, Mimi, and I's squeals filled the room.

I hit him in the shoulder and demanded to know why he hadn't told us sooner.

"Because I didn't want to jinx it! I've never been on a date before and…well, if he canceled, I didn't want to look like a loser." He admitted softly.

"Honey, you would never look like a loser to us, I promise!" I smiled, "Now, who's the lucky guy?"

I folded my legs in the chair and turned my whole body towards him.

Bobby's face broke into a wide smile, "His name is Jimmy and…he's an older guy." My gay comrade giggled, "He's twenty years old and he's going to UW, and I know! That's a good distance away, but his family lives in Forks, so he'll be visiting a lot."

"How did you guys meet?" Mimi asked.

"I was on First Beach, jogging, and so was he. He passed me, so I sped up a little to make it seem like I wasn't slow or anything, then he sped up some more, and eventually, we were racing. Unfortunately, I lost my footing and dragged him down with me. I was mortified when I saw how cute he was, but he assured me that it was alright, 'no blood, no foul'." He voice got deeper, so I guess he was imitating the man's voice, "We got to talking, he told me that he thought I was cute, and then bam! I got a date." Bobby grinned like a Cheshire cat.

"What's he look like?" I said excitedly.

"Well, he's half black half white, has the most dreamy hazel eyes, a beautiful smile, square chin, short, black hair, and muscles, ugh, those muscles!" he began to fan himself as the girls and I giggled.

"Sexy." Sai wiggled her eyebrows.

Right then, Shango came bursting through the doggie door I had installed on my door when we first got him. He jumped from person to person, excitedly licking our faces. I couldn't help but to laugh as I got his doggy treats out of the drawer in my night stand, giving it to him as I petted his fur. He jumped into my chair, laying his big body on me and relaxing.

We did our homework together, me having to do mine on top of my baby's body, since he refused to get up. I didn't have to heart to push him off, well, that was until my stomach growled loudly. Shango gave it a wary look, growling softly as a warning, before laying back down and closing his eyes.

My friends left when they're parents came around six, leaving me to my own devices. I pushed Shango's reluctant body off of me and got up to head to the kitchen. Of course, he followed behind me, sensing that it was dinner time for him.

Grabbing Shango's bowl, I filled it out with his food and left him to it, while I searched for food for myself. I waved my head in front of the motion detectors on one of the cabinet doors. It swung open, revealing different types of canned foods for my consumption.

"Don't bother with those, sweetie." I jumped upon hearing my mom's voice behind me. I hadn't heard her come into the house from her book club, inevitably sending my heart pounding viciously when she snuck up behind me.

"Jeez, mama, you could have made some noise." I gasped.

She giggled, "Sorry, I thought you heard me, I wasn't exactly quiet."

"You know I don't hear anything, but the sound of my stomach pleading for food when I'm hungry." I said cheekily.

"Well, we're heading over to Billy's for dinner right now, so you'll have to wait. Daddy's going to meet us there in an hour."

I groaned, begging Aoki to at least let me grab a granola bar, to which she agreed, before we left. We waited a few more minutes until Shango was finished eating, before loading him into mom's SUV and heading to Billy's.

The door swung open when our car pulled up to a little red shack like house. Mr. Black rolled himself onto the porch and smiled as we approached.

"Hey there, Billy, how's it going?" Aoki greeted Billy with a hug. I followed her example as a greeting, not sure how I should go about doing this, since I only hung around his son on the beach.

"It's going great, Aoki, how about you two?" he said as he petted Shango.

"We're great, Billy." My mother smiled.

"That's good. Zakiya, Jacobs around back in the garage, if you want to go hang out with him and get away from the old folks." Billy chuckled as he wheeled himself back into the house.

I giggled, thanking him as they went inside, Aoki having to drag Shango in, since he wanted to follow me. I walked around back to see the door of the garage was cracked open and I could hear music and the clanking of tools from the inside.

Opening the door a little more, I looked in to see Jacob, who had changed into cutoff jeans with no shirt. His back was turned to me and was hunched over the engine, tinkering with something before standing up. His hips started shaking from side to side suddenly, keeping up nicely with 'Get Your Freak On' by Missy Elliot. I covered my mouth to stifle my giggle as I tip toed into the barn and leaned against the wall, watching and trying not to drool as he continued to dance and rap with Missy as he switched from tool to tool from his box.

I clapped loudly when the song ended, alerting Jacob to my presence. He turned around abruptly, eyes wide in shock and embarrassment as his russet cheeks turned pink, though you could barely see it.

"Zakiya! Wha-What are you doing here?" he stuttered.

"Well, apparently, my family and I are having dinner with you guys, but if you don't want me here, I could go back home…"

"No! I mean, no, it's okay." He cleared his throat. I smiled and walked over to him, looking around him to look at the engine. "Um, I'm working on my friend, Quil's, car. It's giving him problems."

I nodded my head, taking the tool box off of the stool and sitting it in my lap as I took its place by Jacob.

'Stereo Hearts' by Gym Class Heroes came on the radio. I bobbed to the beat softly as I watched Jacob continue his work. I didn't want to interrupt him, so I kept quiet, singing softly with the radio, since this was one of my favorite songs.

We threw each other shy smiles every now and then as he worked. It wasn't an awkward silence, it was comfortable, but I couldn't help but to want to hear his voice.

"You should sing more often." Jacob smiled.

"Are you nuts, I have a horrible voice." I laughed. I knew I did too, it was a weird, raspy voice. It usually didn't stop me from singing in public, but around Jacob, I felt a little self-conscious, and that's a feat in itself. I'm a confident person, a quality I believed every girl should have, lest they feel inadequate to everyone else around them, and that's unacceptable.

"Maybe to you, but I like it."

"You're biased, my friends and family tell me to shut up all the time when I get to singing." I said giggling.

He shrugged, continuing his work.

I bit my lip nervously, deciding to broach the topic that we have skirted around these past few months.

"You know you only have three weeks left right?" I asked softly.

Jacob immediately inhaled sharply before exhaling, "Yeah."

"What's taking you so long?"

Without a word, Jacob dropped his tool in the box before taking it from me and sitting in on the ground. Stepping in between my legs, he hunched over and pressed his forehead against my, placing his hands on either side of my jaw as he held me in place.

"I don't…" he breathed out, "I don't want you hate me." He whispered.

I hummed, "Hates a strong word, Jake. I don't even hate Diana, so I doubt I'll hate you." I smiled softly, though he couldn't see it with his eyes closed.

He shook his head, "You don't know that. You don't…I just…I'm afraid."

"Of what?"

He looked to be struggling with his words before opening his eyes. The amount of fear, sorrow, and hope was so strong that I almost toppled off of the stool if it weren't for him still holding my face. He looked away from me and cast his eyes down as he dropped his hands.

"I don't want to lose you." He said in Quileute. I guess he forgot that I spoke that language, too. If it weren't for the despair in his voice, I would have pointed that out smugly, but I couldn't.

I took his chin in my hand and forced him to look at me, "You're not going to." I answered back in our native tongue as well.

"Promise?" he switched back to English.

"Yeah, unless your times out and you haven't told me." I confessed, though he knows this.

His eyebrows furrowed as he nodded. I offered him a smile to which he gave me one back, but it didn't reach his eyes.

"Zakiya, Jacob! Luca's here with the food!" Aoki's loud voice flooded into the garage.

"Come on, I'm starving." I hopped off the stool, and waited as he turned off the radio. He grabbed my hand, something he usually does when we're walking on the beach and headed towards the house.

I couldn't help but to stare at our intertwined fingers as our hands swung between us in our leisurely pace.

"What?" Jacob asked, catching my stare.

"Nothing, I'm just noticing our skin difference." It was true, though I was looking at our hands, our skin color was what really caught my interest.

He hummed, "I like it." He admitted softly, causing butterflies to erupt in my stomach. I smiled and nodded my head in agreement.

It seemed like my caramel skin and his russet tone mixed perfectly. Harmonious, if you will. I liked the combination, especially for our kids…

Whoa, there, Zakiya Umo! That is a little too fast!

What? You can't deny that you don't like the sound of Zakiya Black.

Shut up!

"I didn't say anything!" Jacob said, defensively.

I groaned, "I didn't know I said that out loud. I was talking to myself."

"You know, they say talking to yourself is the first sign of craziness." He teased.

"Shut up." I smacked him playfully and walked into the house, dropping his hand before anyone could see.

Shango immediately started to run to me excitedly, but stopped short and began to growl at Jacob who stood beside me.

Gasping, I ran to Shango and began to pet him, "What did you do to my baby?" I glared at Jacob.

He raised his hands, "I just walked in here!" Looking at him skeptically, I grabbed onto Shango's collar and drug him back into the living room. He sat upon command, and I left him to his own devices, deciding that that Chinese food aroma was too delicious to ignore.

I sat by Jacob after kissing my father's cheek. "I can't believe you chose to side with that mutt, instead of me." He grumbled.

"Don't you call my baby a mutt, you dog!" I huffed.

"More like wolf." Jacob said cheekily, but something in his eyes told me that I was missing something.

I rolled mine and began to fill my plate, ignoring Jacob's pathetic whimpers as he attempted for me to talk to him, but I refused until he apologized for calling Shango a mutt.

"You can't be serious." He bit into an egg role.

"Oh, she's very serious mate, and seeing as she can hold a grudge against the best of them, especially if it's about her baby, I'd advise you to apologize." My father chuckled.

He was right too. I could hold a grudge like no other. One time I didn't speak to my dad for a full two months when he lost Shango. My baby was only a pup at that time, and I about burnt down La Push searching for him.

Jacob sighed, "I'm sorry, Zakiya." He said, but it clearly was not sincere. I turned my chair away from him, facing head on with Billy, as I continued to eat. "What? I apologized!"

I rolled my eyes and shook my head.

"Did that even sound sincere to you, Jacob?" my mother said, trying to help him out.

I could hear his exasperated sigh as he laid his fork down. I felt him lay his chin on my left shoulder as he wrapped an arm softly around my neck.

"I'm really sorry, Kiya." He said softly. I could hear the sincerity in his voice as I peaked at him from the corner of my eye, locking mine with his.

I nodded once and turned my seat back around, causing him to move back to his place. I was about to continue eating, but the stares of my parents made me give them a questioning glance.

"You don't let anyone call you Kiya, not even me." My father accused. I sent him a nasty glare, one that said 'drop it or else' before continuing to eat after a dignified sniff, the one I got from my mother.

I ignored my parents shaking shoulders, deciding that the love they shared caused them to have simultaneous twitches, coincidently.

They should really get that checked out.

To put this lightly, the dinner was uneventful, except for Jacob's groveling. Other than that, we had to listen to Billy and my parents drone on about their life as kids. I tried to stab myself in the eyes with my fork, but Jake stopped me before I could get it close enough. Anything would have been better other than their stories, though.

"So, I'll see you later." I said as I climbed into the passenger seat of the car, ignoring Shango's growl towards Jacob.

"Yeah." He threw a wary look at my baby. Chuckling, I shut my door and waved as my mom pulled out of the driveway towards our house with my dad following.

"So…Jacob…"

"Let's not do this, mom." I groaned and jumped out of the car as fast as I could when we pulled into our driveway. We only lived five minutes away from the Blacks.

"Do what?" she giggled.

"That! That right there! There is no way we are going to have girl talk about Jacob." I ran into the house and upstairs, completely embarrassed as my father's kissing noises followed me.

Suffice it to say, I was thoroughly mortified. My dad's supposed to be threatening the life of Jacob, claiming that he will string him by his neck if he comes within five feet of me, not singing 'Jacob and Zakiya sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g!'.

They fail as parents.

I took a shower, washing my long tresses, and put on a tank top and a pair of boy shorts. I decided that the best way to pass the time was to continue my sketches for my homework, but every time I tried to start on my mother's face, Jacob's mug had to pop up.

I sighed in frustration and gave up. I turned off the light and just laid under my covers, trying to figure out the anomaly that is Jacob Black.

What was it about him that stirred such emotions in the pitch of my belly. Why did his gorgeous, perfect smile, toned body, long, black, shiny hair, and russet skin make me want to giggle like a prepubescent school girl. I had never felt this way before! I've never had a crush, (I don't count Johnny Depp, since I had no chance with him), nor have I ever wanted to kiss someone as much as I wanted to kiss Jacob.

I mean, you would think that I wouldn't even like him! In all technicality, he is popular, and I'm an outcast…they just don't mix! Not that I believed in that kind of stuff. My father's a complete dork, hell, he had our kitchen Sci-Fi'd, but I have never encountered a love like my parents. That's why I don't believe in titles. My parents are like…like…ugh, their love is so strong, I can't even describe it.

And that's what I want. I want someone who will look at me the way my father does my mother—like their seeing the sun for the first time. I grew up watching them move like magnets, kissing when they thought I wasn't looking, giggling quietly together while they whispered sweet nothings…I was blessed to be able to watch that growing up. I want a man like my father, and Jacob might be him.

Or maybe not, God I'm so confused! I'll see him staring at me from the corner of my eye, and when I catch him, he turns his head away quickly and blushes. We'll sit in the sand on the beach at twilight to watch the waves, and he'll play with my hair, twirling it around his finger and claiming that it smelled like cherry blossoms, thanks to my shampoo. Or he'll pull me between his legs while we're sitting, wrap his arms around my waist, and rest his chin on my shoulder, sending my heart into a flurry.

He makes me feel special, and safe, and wanted, but there's always this little voice in the back of my mind that keeps saying that this isn't going to last…that he'll get what he wants eventually, and drop me like I'm worthless.

To say that I'm scared about there being an 'us' is an understatement, but I was never one to let things hold me back. If all of this is just a game for him, than his true intentions will come out eventually, and I'll hurt for a while, but I'll move on. But if this is real, then it has the potential to grow from like to love.

I have no idea when I fell asleep, but it felt like I had only been asleep for an hour when I was awakened by Shango's barking. I looked at my clock to see it was twelve noon and time for me to get up. I was going over to Bobby's around two to help him get ready for his date, so I had to get ready.

I decided to put on my tan, spaghetti halter top, Bohemian Maxi dress that flowed all the way to the floor. This dress was my favorite, since it made my boobs look great with the tight, elasticized, empire. I put on a tan scarf that covered the whole top of my head, and let my hair flow down naturally. After brushing my teeth and washing my face, I put on some lip gloss, threw on a pair of white sandals, and was ready to go. By the time I was finished eating and feeding my baby, it was one thirty and time for me to head out.

Sai and Mimi were borrowing their parents car, so I didn't have to pick them up. I drove to Bobby's, who only lived a little farther than Jacob, and knocked on the door.

"Oh, Zakiya, how are you?" Bobby's mom, Elaine, answered the door.

"I'm fine, Elaine, how are you?" I smiled.

"I'm doing just fine, dear, Bobby's upstairs in his room." After thanking her, I walked into Bobby's room to see clothes everywhere. They were on the floor, on his bed, hanging from his ceiling fan…it was a pig's sty!

"What in the devil happened here?" I asked, astonished. Bobby turned to look at me, still clad in his pajamas of sweat pants and a t-shirt. His eyes were wide with fear and exasperation, his mouth turned down in a grimace, and his hair was wild.

"Help me, please!" he wheezed.

"Aww." I jumped and turned around to see Sai and Mimi standing behind me. Hmm, I didn't hear them come upstairs.

We walked in and shut the door. I looked at all his clothes on the floor, trying to find something decent for him to wear while Mimi sat Bob down to comb through his hair.

"Where are you guys going?" I questioned, looking at his stressed reflection from his vanity mirror.

"First we're going to dinner, then a movie."

"Hmm, so semi-casual should be good. Now, go take a shower, wash your hair, and relax. We'll take care of the rest." I commanded, standing him up and all but throwing him out of his room. Sighing heavily, I turned back around to my girlfriends, our heads nodding in understanding.

We picked his clothes up first, looking at every shirt or pair of paints to see if they would be good for tonight. Sai found a black, button down shirt with a silver dragon embroidered on the left side of the shirt that would look good. I paired that up with a pair of dark wash jeans, and Mimi grabbed his black sneakers. She left to put them in the washer to get them cleaned while Sai and I ironed his clothes. I grabbed him a pair of black briefs and sampled every cologne until we decided that Calvin Klein's cologne would be best.

Bobby came in then with a towel wrapped around his waist, his dripping wet hair sticking to his shoulders and back. We, of course, attacked him with a blow dryer, comb, and brush. After drying his hair, I tried to get his hair just like Jacob wore his sometimes, but I couldn't seem to get it right!

"YaYa, what are you doing?" Bobby groaned, calling me by my childhood nick name my best friends gave me that I allowed them to call me.

"I'm trying to…ugh!" I yelled and grabbed my phone, deciding that the only one who could do the hairstyle was the original person that wears it.

"Hello?" Jacob's husky voice rang in my ear. I had to take a couple deep breaths before I could answer.

"Hey, Jake, I need you to come and help me really quick." I said and gave him the address.

"Why did you call, Jacob?" Mimi asked, confused.

"Because, I thought, who best to do boys hair then a boy with long hair himself." I smiled.

"We could have…"

"No, we couldn't. For the last hour, we've been struggling to get a good hairstyle, and I'm about ready to chop it all off." I sighed and sat down on Bobby's bed.

"So, you excited?" Sai questioned Bob with a smile.

"Of course, but I'm so nervous." He continued when he was met with our confused expressions, "It's not easy being gay, and it's definitely not easy to be gay in a little town where gossip spreads fast. And it's definitely not easy being gay, in a small town, with an older guy whose out of your league."

"Who says he's out of your league." My eyes narrowed.

"No one has to say it, YaYa, I feel it. I'm just a junior in high school, and he's a freshman in college. Our worlds couldn't be any farther apart. It's like I'm a regular person and he's a celebrity."

"Of course you're going to nervous if you think of it that way." Mimi said, "You can't shoot yourself down before a relationship even has a chance to start. You have absolutely no idea what he thinks! He does know that you're in high school, right?"

"Yeah." Bobby sighed heavily.

"Well, then, stop this talk about out of leagues and all that rubbish. Just look at me and Jake! In high school terms, he's popular, and I'm a freak, but it's not stopping me. And you've already seen how Diana and her cronies are trying to shoot me down, but I'm not even trying to hear all that mess. You've got to have confidence in yourself, Bobby, or you're going to have one hell of a time trying to snag a man."

It was silent then, all of us in our thoughts. Like I said, confidence is a key quality that everyone needs to have, I believe wholeheartedly in that. I was raised to never let people who think their better than me, bring me down, and I don't! You can put me in a room full of supermodels and no one will be able to tell me that I'm not beautiful. It's not a conceited thing, by the way, it's a 'I believe in myself and have enough self-esteem to love who I am' type of feeling.

I was pulled from my musings by a knock on the bedroom door. Jacob, in all his sexy glory, walked in then, clad in jeans and a black t-shirt that made his muscles look yummy.

"Hi!" I bounced over to him and dragged him into the room.

"Hey." He smiled, giving me a kiss on the cheek like he's been doing for the past few months. "So, anyone want to tell me why I'm here?"

I pointed at Bobby's hair, as if it should explain everything. "We can't do his hair, Bobby's at a lost as to what he should do to it, and I've tried to do it like yours, but it's not working out so well." I complained and glared at Bobby's tresses, envisioning myself taking a pair of scissors to it and cutting it all off while laughing maniacally.

Jacob hummed and walked over to Bobby, who looked as if he wanted to be anywhere but here at this moment.

"What do you want me to do to it?" he asked my best friend as he sat down on his bed.

"Um…"

I gawked at Bobby, the guru of hair, who has done Mimi, Sai, and I's hair since the we've known him.

"Just do that." I jumped in to save the day like the superhero that I am. "Half up, half down." I elaborated.

Jacob nodded his head and stood back up, attacking Bobby's head with a brush and a rubber band. In five minutes, Jacob had completed his perfect hair do that took over an hour for me to try and figure out. I scowled at the difference and looked towards the clock to see that Bob had about forty five minutes before his date would be here.

"Okay, we're about to head out, but good luck, mi mejor amigo." I gave Bobby a big hug, with my two other best friends following my lead. Jacob gave him a 'man hug' and wished him good luck.

"Thanks, you guys." Bobby gave us a nervous smile.

"Remember what we said, relax and stop thinking so negatively. You have absolutely no idea where this is going to go, so chill out. And video chat with us when you get back to tell us how it went, kay?" Mimi smiled and walked out of the door. I blew him a kiss and followed Mimi out with Jake and Sai behind me.

"Ugh, we're telling him not to be nervous, but I'm nervous for him." I furrowed my eyebrows.

"I know, but he's a great guy. His date will go well." Sai smiled and jumped in the car. I noted that her English was getting better now that she's finally relented and actually decided to go and take a class. She claims it's because she's tired of being embarrassed about her broken English, but I have a sneaking suspicion it's because she's want to improve for Embry.

Mimi gave Jake and I a hug and climbed in Sai's car, since her mother needed the car at the last minute. I waved to them as they drove away and looked towards Jacob.

We looked at each other, and knew what we both were thinking. Without a word, we climbed into our cars and drove to First Beach. I took off my sandals and left them in my car. We walked, hand and hand, down the beach to our spot where we could see the sunset perfectly.

Jake sat down with his legs apart, grabbing my hand and pulling me down to sit in between them. Our legs tangled together, the stark difference in height obvious, as he wrapped his arms around my waist and rested his chin on my shoulder.

We were quiet, him in his thoughts and I in mine. I thought back to when I first seen Jacob in math class. He was gorgeous, yes, but there was something in his eyes that made me want to cry. His chocolate pools were filled with sadness, the broad shoulders that now stood straight were hunch forward that day, as if whatever that was on his mind weighed him down physically. I remember wanting to wrap my arms around him and taking all his pain away, a feeling that stills confuses me to this day.

Now, though, Jacob is so much happier. I wondered what could have made him so happy along with what made him sad in the first place.

"Jake?" I whispered, feeling that speaking any louder in this peaceful silence would be a crime.

He hummed. He did that a lot.

"Can I ask you a question, and you don't have to answer me if you don't want to, but I was just wondering about something." I bit my lip. His head lifted from my shoulder as he shifted me to the side a little so that he could face me. His eyebrows had furrowed some and his eyes were wary, but surprisingly, not guarded.

"What?"

"Um…the first day that you came into math class, you seemed different…sad even. I was just wondering what happened." I said quietly.

Jake sighed heavily and shifted me back into place with his arms still around me, but his chin didn't take refuge on my shoulder this time.

"I guess it is time to tell you about Bella."

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><p><strong>AN: So what do you think? I really hoped you like it, and I hope you tell me how you feel, because I'm not sure on if I should continue or not. Thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey, guys! I know its been a while, but I have a new chapter for you. I just saw BD 2, and it was freaking awesome! It gave me more motivation for finish my stories! So, I hope you all enjoy this and pictures will be on my home page. The link for it is on my profile, and look for the pictures labeled Love us both.**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>ZPOV<p>

_Turn…run…no…lee…_

_Okay…don't…try…under…_

_Smell…move…_

I gasped as I sat up. Sighing, I turned on my bedside lamp and wiped the sweat the had accumulated on my forehead away.

This has been going on for a few weeks now, these voices in my head. Every time I lie down and fall asleep I hear voices in my dreams, and it feels like I'm running at an incredible speed through the forest. They weren't so bad the first couple times, but it has become increasingly worse. I haven't been able to sleep well in the last week and I feel like I'm going to die from exhaustion.

I laid down again and tried to fall asleep, but I knew I would be back up within the hour. It was ridiculous really. Turning over, I looked at the clock to see it was five in the morning. I had an hour and a half before I had to get up for school.

Sighing deeply, I closed my eyes once more and fell into another fitful sleep.

_Beep…Beep…Beep_

I slammed my hand on the off button and opened my eyes. It was six thirty on the dot. It felt like I had just closed my eyes only a minute ago.

Grunting, I heaved myself out of bed and went to take a hot shower to try and wake up. Afterwards, I couldn't be bothered to try and dress nicely, so I threw on a black tracksuit, my black Nikes, and threw my hair in a high pony tail.

After grabbing my bag and keys, I headed downstairs to grab some water, not really having an appetite to eat anything.

"Good morning, sweetheart." My father greeted me from his perch on the island stool.

"Hey." I said softly with a smile. My mother looked up from her coffee concerned as she looked me over.

"Honey, are you alright?" she asked.

Sighing, I shook my head. "I haven't been getting enough rest lately. I keep having these stupid dreams…" I stopped. In my exhaustion, I had forgotten to not mention why I wasn't getting enough sleep. I didn't want to tell my parents that I was hearing and seeing weird things that seem so real, just for them to ship me off to the farthest loony bin good money can find.

"Why? Are you feeling alright? Is it school? Does it have something to do with your friends? With Jacob?" my mother asked rapidly as she felt my forehead and cheeks.

"No! No, mom, I'm fine, I just haven't been sleeping well lately." I was desperate to say something. Anything! If I needed pills and a therapist, I'd take it, I just want my sleep back!

"Then what is it?" my father asked with a concerned look on his face.

Biting my lip, I took a bottle of water out of the fridge and took a sip.

"Honey, whatever it is, you can tell us. You know you can tell us anything." My mother rubbed my arm as she looked at my father before turning back to me.

I nodded my head. Sighing deeply, I stood at the island and stared at my bottle top.

"I've been having these weird dreams." I began hesitantly, "It's just the forest, but everything's going by me so fast that I can't see anything! And then, I hear these…" I stop and close my eyes.

"Go on, baby, you're doing fine." My father rested a hand on top of mine.

I took a deep breath and continued. "I hear these…voices. They're male, I can tell, but sometimes I'll hear a female voice too. I can't hear a full conversation…there's too much static, but the voices sound kind of familiar. I don't know! I'm going crazy probably. I just can't sleep with the _voices_ and the _running…I'm_ just so tired!" I could feel the tears pulling in my eyes as I looked at my parents.

They were looking at each other with astonished faces. They're lips weren't moving, but they would nod slightly as if they were speaking out loud. If I hadn't been watching them closely, I wouldn't have noticed. Finally, they turned back to me with sympathetic faces.

"Okay, sweetheart, you're not going to school today. You're going back up to your room, I'll make you some tea and go buy you some sleep medication to see if that will help and we'll figure this thing out, alright?" my mother rubbed my cheeks.

"You're going to be fine, sweetie. We'll figure this out." My father kissed my forehead as he stood.

"Am I going crazy?" I whispered as a tear streamed down my cheek.

"No, no, no, no, no, baby girl. It's probably a reoccurring dream. Maybe, it's trying to tell you something." My father winked, but in his eyes, I could tell there was a truth to that.

I was way too exhausted to explore right now though. I dragged myself back off to bed while my parents whispered to one another.

LPOV (Luca)

My heart clenched as I listened to my baby talk about something that I feared would happen to one of my children. I was hoping it would be my son, Teddy, at least he would be able to take care of himself a little better, but not my baby girl.

"Luca." I looked down at my wife's pain stricken face as the same fear reflected in her eyes that were in mine.

"I know sweetheart. Try and get her to go to sleep and then we'll go to Billy's to discuss this." I sighed. With Billy being the chief of the tribe, this had to be reported to him immediately, he would know what to do.

"Okay." Aoki muttered as tears gathered in her eyes. She shakily grabbed the tea pot and began to fill it with water. I placed my hands on her shoulders and kissed the top of her head.

"She will be fine." I said as reassuringly as I could, but I was fearful myself. This would be a cause for celebration had it been Teddy in Zakiya's place. But it wasn't, and I didn't know what would come of my young daughter.

My wife's head nodded as she placed the teapot on the stove and cut it on. I grabbed the phone and dialed Billy's house number, waiting pensively as it rang.

_"Hello?"_ Billy's gruff voice answered.

"Billy, it's Luca, we must come over and talk. It's important." I said quickly.

_"Are you okay?"_ he asked worriedly.

"I…I don't know yet. May we come over in about an hour?" I asked.

_"Yes, I'll be here waiting for you when you arrive."_ I thanked him before calling my Lodge to tell them I wouldn't be in today.

Afterwards, I grabbed the keys and drove to the nearest drug store to get my daughter some sleep medicine. Hopefully, she will find solace in a dreamless sleep until we figure out what to do.

It was around nine when we finally got Zakiya to sleep. Her face was scrunched and her eyebrows were narrowed. It wasn't the peaceful sleep that I was used to seeing when I opened the door to see if she was alright late at night. It was one of distress and it was breaking my heart.

Shango licked her cheek, causing her face to relax a little, but not much. I scratched his head before getting up to leave with Aoki. We rushed to the car and drove as quickly as we could to Billy's, coming to a halt when I pulled into his gravel driveway.

Billy was sitting on the porch in his wheelchair, a concerned smile crossing his face when we reached him.

"Luca, it's nice to see you again, though it seems in not so good circumstances." He shook my hand and hugged Aoki before wheeling inside.

"Billy, Zakiya is…" I shook my head as I sat on the couch in front of him. I grabbed my wife's hand and rubbed it when a strangled cry came from her throat.

"Is she alright?" his eyes became fearful and concerned for both Zakiya and I'm sure Jacob as well.

"Physically she is fine." I said.

"For now." Aoki whispered.

"But mentally…Billy it's happening. She is showing the signs." I sighed heavily.

Billy's eyes widened as he stared at us. "But…but I thought it was Teddy who was showing the signs. That's why you went to California."

"I thought so too. When he sent us a picture…he was much larger than how he was here, so I thought he could be changing, but when we saw him, he was exactly the same. No temperature, no mood swings…he was just larger. Now, I fear it's something else." I shook my head. I really hope my son hasn't gotten himself into anything dangerous.

"Hmm, maybe it's the genes that are helping him a little, don't come to those type of conclusions just yet." Billy smiled slightly, before it disappeared. "How do you know Zakiya is showing signs?"

"This morning, she came downstairs and she looked so tired." Aoki answered this time. "So, we asked her if she was alright and she finally told us. Billy, she's been hearing their voices for a few weeks now and she can see what they see. She said there's too much static to hear a full conversation, but she can tell they are male and a female."

Billy's eyes widened when he realized what we were implying, "But that means that she's not…she's not a wolf, but…"

I nodded my head.

Billy shook his head, "How? We haven't had one for so long…what does this mean?!" he scratched his head.

"I don't know." My voice croaked as I thought about it. What _does_ this all mean?

Billy began to wheel himself out of the living room, "I'm going to call Sam and tell him that there is a mandatory pack meeting at five. Luca, could you please go to my room. In my closet to the left on the floor is a box of books, you'll know which to grab." He instructed.

I got up and did as asked. As soon as I look through the box of books, I knew which one he was talking about and grabbed it. I came back in to see Billy holding onto Aoki's hand as he rubbed it, trying to comfort her.

"Here you are." I handed him the book.

"Ah, thank you." He chuckled as he grabbed it, "Well, I definitely did not think I would ever need to use this book. You know, we do not have to look at this as a bad thing. Granted, we haven't experienced this ourselves, but we have something that can guide us. For all we know, this could mean something extraordinary." He said as he opened the book and began to read, hopefully looking for clues as to what to do. I know he has had read every book of our tribe, but that is one we haven't needed for…a while.

"I don't know what it means, it just shouldn't have to be my daughter." I mumbled.

"This runs in your family the most, Luca, you know that." Billy said as he continued to read.

"Yes, but I'd much rather have Teddy go through this than Zakiya. I don't know if she can handle it."

Billy chuckled, "In all honesty, Luca, I think Zakiya is a better pick than Teddy. He has too big a desire for fame to be bothered with this. Plus, I wouldn't test Leah for all the money in the world. If Zakiya really is changing then she will be ten times worse." His body shook with silent laughter.

I cracked a small smile thinking about it. Zakiya is a spitfire, with her mother's wit and short temper, while Teddy has my calm demeanor. It takes a little more to rile him up then it does his sister. That may be helpful in her case, but I still didn't like this one bit.

Five o'clock rolled around slowly, with Aoki making us a quick lunch and us watching a little TV as we waited. I had driven back to check up on Zakiya and to leave a note saying we would be back in a little while, since thankfully, she was still sleeping.

Sam arrived at five on the dot with Emily, who had a large basket full of cookies, no doubt for the pack. Aoki immediately went to help and talk, while we waited.

I greeted Sam as he looked at Billy and I questionably.

"What's this all about?" he asked as he took a seat on the couch.

"We will explain when everyone gets here." Billy assured him. Soon, the pack began to come one after the other along with Sue and Quil senior, the other tribal leaders. Jacob walked in with Embry and Quil, but as soon as he saw me, he hurried on with a worried expression.

"Is Kiya okay? She wasn't at school and I tried to call her, but she didn't answer and her friends didn't know why she wasn't there?" he asked as he looked from me to my wife and back again.

"Jacob, calm down son. We are here for a reason and it has something to do with your imprint. Now, if you would sit, we can begin." Billy spoke up.

Jacob sat on the floor immediately, keeping silent and looking at his father worriedly. If it weren't for the situation, I would have chuckled at how similar to a puppy he was acting.

Everyone quieted down and looked at Billy curiously.

"This morning, I got a call from Luca and Aoki Umo regarding their daughter, Zakiya. They noticed that she was looking extremely tired and asked if she was okay. She had explained to them that she hasn't been sleeping well at night. For the last few weeks, she has been having reoccurring dreams of a vision of running through the forest at an unnatural speed. She has also been hearing voices and snippets of conversation from males and a female, though she could not hear much, because there was too much static."

Quil senior and Sue gasped when they realized what he was describing, while the rest of the pack had tensed when Billy began to explain.

"You mean…" Quil senior spoke, his gruff voice weary with age. Billy nodded. "But it can't be! We haven't had one in ages!"

"Haven't had what?" Paul asked. Obviously, he had become frustrated with his confusion.

Billy held up the book I had gotten for him. "There is a tale that I have not explained to you yet, along with others, because I thought that they would not happen again…at least not in my life time. I was going to pass down the books of these tales to Jacob, and he to pass down to his children and so on until they were once again needed." Billy sighed as he opened it.

"Long ago, before Chief Taha Aki, there was another Chief. He was not as well known as Taha Aki, because he could not change into a spirit warrior, but he had great wisdom, courage, and a love for his people so deep that he fought against other spirit warriors in his human form, not caring about the disadvantage. He was called Chief Dyami Bidziil. His wife, Tala, was pregnant with his child, but had become very sick and was dying. Chief Dyami prayed over his unborn child and wife every day, giving offerings, and begging for them to be spared. He had given his child over to the spirits, hoping that they would take care of them and would spare him his wife and child. Every night, a fierce wind would blow when his wife would cry out from the pain she was feeling and would stop when she did. Dyami thought this strange, but did not question it for he was too worried about the survival of his family."

"When his wife went into labor, the winds blew furiously and howled every time she cried out, the earth shook, the ocean's tides began to crash against the rocks feverishly, and the fire of the bonfire raised high and burned so hot that it set the nearby huts aflame. Finally, when the baby was born, the wind, earth, water, and fire calmed. The baby was alive and so was his wife. Chief Dyami cried with happiness, but stopped when he noticed something strange was on his child. Imprinted over his son's right eyebrow was a diamond. Within the diamond was a circle and in the middle of that circle was a smaller circle. This was 'The Great Spirit Symbol'. The baby began to fuss more, causing the wind to begin to blow again, the water to crash, the earth to shake and the fire to grow. What was even more astonishing was the symbol on the baby's head began to glow white. His mother began to feed him, calming him and the elements down, and causing the symbol to stop glowing. Astonished, Chief Dyami and Tala named their baby Wanageeska, meaning 'White Spirit'.

"Not wanting anyone to see the symbol, Chief Dyami crafted a headband and tied it to his son's head in order to keep him safe. He didn't know what was to come of his son, but he did know that if word spread, he would be in grave danger, and he did not want that for him. Years passed and the child grew from a baby to a young boy. He noticed that his son would talk to what seemed like no one, but was sure that his son could probably see whomever it was he was talking to. When asked, he son told him that he was talking to the spirits that stayed around their tribe. His son grew from a young boy to a young man, showing great leadership, wisdom, and courage like his father. One peaceful day, while the sun shined and the wind blew lazily, a loud scream filled the air with collective others joining after. Chief Dyami ran out to see the problem. There was a young pale man who was biting one of the females from his tribe. Chief Dyami didn't understand what he was doing as he dropped her to the ground and caught another young female, one that his son had taken a liking to and began to bite that one as well, but he could not let that go on. He grabbed a nearby spear and ran at the man, but was thrown back and into a tree with a great force. He could feel that he wouldn't be able to get up again, his body was too broken. His son ran out of the hut and stopped when he saw the pale man drop the girl that had caught his heart. He became so _angered_ when he saw that she was not moving or breathing that his eyes glowed white, and if he had removed the headband, you would see that his symbol too began to glow."

"The wind started to blow furiously once more, like the night he was born. The earth shook violently, and the waves of the ocean crashed frantically once again. There was no fire lit, but if there was, Chief Dyami knew it would be as high as the clouds and burning so hot that the trees and huts would have caught on fire. Wanageeska ran faster than any human could and grabbed the pale man, lifting him off the ground by his throat and growling at him. He noticed then that his son's features had changed, taking on a more animalistic look to them. He watched as the pale man tried to break from his son's grasp, but it was of no use. His red eyes were wide with fear as his son lowered the man's face close to his and whispered 'you're dead' in their native tongue. He doubted the pale man understood him, but from the fear in his eyes he knew that this was his last moment to live. With force he had never seen before, his son slammed the pale male repeatedly into the ground, ignoring his screams of pain and agony and creating a hole that only seemed to grow as he pounded him further and further into the ground. Finally, he tore the man apart before lighting a stick on fire and setting the ripped pieces aflame. The body set fire immediately and burned, creating a sweet stench in the air as dark smoke began to rise from it."

"Chief Dyami watched as his son looked at him and began to walk towards him. He did not feel any fear; he knew his son would not hurt him. Tentatively, Wanageeska picked his father up as softly as he could and laid him down on his bedding in their hut. Tala ran into the hut just as his son's eyes and symbol ceased to glow and returned to its normal russett color. Wanageeska began to sway and fell to the ground unconscious, his mother catching his head just before it hit the earth. For days, his son remained in his sleep while the shaman looked over the Chief's body, trying to help heal him. Finally, after five days, his son awakened, confused, but remembering what had happened. Chief Dyami questioned his son on what happened, why he tore the man to pieces and set him on fire, and if he knew what he was doing. His son replied that it was the spirits that told him what to do; that it was the only way the man could not hurt them anymore. He didn't understand what he was doing, but he had a feeling that he could trust them, so he followed what they told him to do."

Billy looked around and smiled at the astonished faces of the pack members.

"From then on, his son had his own family and passed down the ability to his son, who passed the ability down to his granddaughter, who passed it to her son, who passed it to his granddaughter. She was Luca's great-great-great grandmother. It was not until Chief Taha Aki's time when they deemed them the name, Spirit Protector."

"It has been a hundred and twenty years since there has been a spirit protector in the tribe." Quil senior said as he stared out the window.

"Okay, now connect it to why we are here, please." Sam said.

"You are here, because Zakiya is showing signs of being the next spirit protector." Billy answered. I winced as I thought of this.

"_What?!_ How do you even know?" Jacob asked as he began to tremble slightly.

"Calm down, Jake." Sam said. Jacob began to take deep breathes to stop his quivers before looking at his father once more.

"As time passed, more and more information was collected and kept about spirit protectors, such as how you can tell they will be one…"

"Yeah! You said that they have a symbol. Well, Zakiya doesn't!" Jake interrupted.

"Jacob." Billy said and leveled him with a look, "If you had let me finish, you would have heard me say that Wanageeska was the only one born with the symbol. The other spirit protects got their symbols when the gene was…activated, if you will. Kind of like your wolf gene, except there was a pattern that was noticed. Spirit protectors appeared when something was going to happen, whether it was bad or good, though there was only one time that it was good and that was when the spirit protector sent the wolf to Chief Taha Aki."

"What!?" the entire pack said at once.

"I altered the story a little bit to keep from having to explain about spirit protectors, because I saw no reason to. I truly thought that there would be none during my time. Before I passed, I would have told Jacob to read these books, because there was information that he needed to know, just in case. But it seems that I will have the pleasure in meeting a spirit protector _now."_ Billy smiled.

"She hasn't fully changed yet, Billy. She may have the gene and it's showing up, but it doesn't mean it will fully activate." I said hopefully. Billy's look of remorse and doubt crushed my hopes, even though I didn't even believe what I was saying.

"I'm sorry, Luca, but it's only a matter of time." Billy whispered.

"If we want to wait." Quil senior spoke up. I was already shaking my head when he said that.

"There is no way in hell we are speeding up the process of her becoming a spirit protector!" I said angrily.

"I only said it, because we know what is going to happen. The voices are going to get louder and the dreams or visions of what the pack is doing will become clearer and more incessant. Until something sets her off or her gene activates, she will continue to lose sleep, until there is no point in her lying down for bed at all."

I looked away, knowing what he said was true, but not wanting to listen.

"Luca, I can't watch that." I looked to see my wife staring at me with tear filled eyes. "Did you see how she looked at us when she said she was just so tired? She was suffering, and it's only going to get worse. Maybe…maybe we should think about it, and possibly talk to her and tell her what's happening to her."

"No!" All three tribal elders said at once. I looked at them astonished.

"We all know Zakiya well enough to know that she will fight this and it will only drag on the process. If she fights what happening to her then it will take longer for the gene to activate. We must not forget that there is a reason why she is becoming the spirit protector." Quil senior exclaimed.

"I don't give a damn about why the gene is starting to activate, what I care about is my daughter and her wellbeing!" I spit as I glared at the old man.

"Okay, let's calm down." Sue's soft voice broke in. I looked from him to Sue, my eyes losing its hardness but remained wary. "I believe that we should keep this a secret from everyone that's not in this room at the moment, but leave the decision of how long we wait for the gene to activate to Luca and Aoki. After all, they are her parents." She smiled softly. I nodded my thanks to her in gratitude.

"I agree. It will be your decision on how long to wait, but remember that you have no control over how long this will last, so I urge you to make your decision quickly." Billy spoke up.

"What about Zakiya!" Jacob stood up and began to tremble again, "You don't think she should be able to know what's going on with her body and what will happen to her?!" he glared at the elders.

"Jacob, this is far more complex than you understand…" his farther began before Jacob interrupted.

"Oh, I understand plenty. I wouldn't want anything to come between you and your _prize!"_ he spat.

"Jacob!" Sam yelled as he stood as well, only a couple inches taller than Jacob. "Calm down. We don't understand all of it, we don't even know half of it, so sit down and listen!" he ordered, but it wasn't an alpha command. If it were, Jacob would have immediately sat down without a word, instead of staring Sam down challengingly.

"Son, just listen." Billy begged. Jacob returned to his seat once again, but I could tell he was itching to leave and release his wolf to protect Zakiya.

Sighing, Billy sat back in his set and rubbed his forehead.

"I will not deny that it is a treat to have a spirit protector in your tribe. It was found long ago that there are more out there in their own tribes, but it's not without great sacrifice to have one, for they are a delicacy, few and far in between. But it can also be looked at as a beautiful thing to be a spirit protector. You may not have noticed, but every living thing has its own spirit. The elements all have their own spirit, nature has its own, animals have their own, and of course humans do as well. So, to be one in the less than a handful hat exists with the ability to communicate with the spirits is extraordinary. You are one with them and you create a bond of trust. Not even spirit warriors can do that. Spirit Protectors also have a great responsibility; to protect not only their tribe and innocent humans as well, but also the spirit warriors themselves."

"The abilities the protectors have are enhanced beyond that of spirit warriors and vampires. Essentially, they have a duty to always be on the lookout for trouble that comes towards their home as well as a duty to make sure that the spirit warriors are safe and content. The spirit protector is connected to all of you. He or she will feel what you feel, see what you see, and hear what you hear. You will all be one with Zakiya when her gene is activated. It cannot be stopped, just slowed or quickened, but either way she will continue to lose sleep."

Silence filled the room as the magnitude of what is about to happen sank in.

"We will be making our decision soon about how to proceed with this. We would just like to ask you Sam, if you could have an allotted time where she can get a little bit of sleep in before you have to patrol?" Aoki requested.

Sam nodded his head, "That will be fine." He turned and addressed his pack, "We will continue with our planned schedule and we will continue to patrol, but only in human form. If you happen to be in the slot from ten to two in the morning, then you stay in your human form. After that, you will return to your wolf form and continue to patrol, but try and keep the talking to a minimum. Also, we will watch Zakiya during the hours of school to make sure that nothing happens in front of the humans. I trust that when we and her parents aren't around, you will be keeping watch, Jacob. Understood?" the pack nodded their heads, Jacob more reluctant than the others.

"I'll also trust that you won't say anything to Zakiya, Jacob. We're her parents and we'll decide when she knows." I looked at him. Again, Jacob nodded his head reluctantly.

"Well, if this meeting is over then I'll go pick up Claire from Ms. Dill's house." Quil said as he got up with a big smile on his face and left. The rest followed his lead and began to trickle out, asking a quick question or two before disappearing.

Aoki and I stood and shook the elder's hands as we readied ourselves to leave.

"Good luck, Luca. I can't imagine how I would deal with this if I were in your position." Sue said as she gave me a hug.

"Thank you." We left soon after to check on Zakiya. It was seven thirty, the meeting taking much longer than I had anticipated. As soon as I turned off the car, Aoki was out and running into the house. I rushed in after her and to Zakiya's room, opening it to see that she was still asleep with Shango lying asleep next to her.

"Should we wake her to eat dinner?" Aoki whispered.

I shook my head, "No, let her sleep. She can find something in there when she wakes up if she's hungry." I pulled her back out and closed the door before walking to our bedroom.

I sat heavily on the bed and rested my elbows on my knees as I rubbed eyes.

"They're right, you know. This can't be stopped, so there is no point in waiting. We can't tell Zakiya, because she'll fight it, and it will only make her sleep less and make this go on for even longer. But I feel like if we don't then we are forcing this life on her. I mean, we are her parents, Luca! We should protect her, not throw her right in the middle of the danger!" my wife cried as she gestured sporadically and paced around the room.

"We're not forcing anything on her. If we did speed up the process, then she can start working on developing and controlling her abilities, and she'd be able to block out their voices. The only reason she can hear them now is because it's like her abilities are trying to wake up the spirit protector within her. It's like a sleeping animal that needs to be reminded that it has a job to do." I repeated the explanation that my father before me said as he explained what happens when a spirit protector is starting to awaken.

Aoki ceased pacing and looked at me with desperation and unanswered questions in her eyes.

"What are we going to do?" she whispered. I stood up and pulled her into my arms.

"We are going to wait a couple of days and see how Sam's new plan works out. If it doesn't get any better than we'll take the next step." I decided as I rubbed her back.

"Okay."

* * *

><p>ZPOV<p>

The last couple of days, the dreams have been a little better. I can still see the running, but the talking has gone down. I still wake up when a voice goes through my head, but at least I get a couple hours sleep in between then.

I decided to put on my black wide leg jumper, with black gladiator wedges, two thin light brown and tan belts around my waist, and a long necklace with a feather at the end. I left my hair wavy, and did my business in the bathroom before putting on a little make-up. I grabbed my book bag and keys and went downstairs to grab a granola bar.

"Hey rents." I greeted with a small smile. I may be getting a little more sleep, but it wasn't much.

"Hey, baby. How are you feeling?" the way my father looked at me was a little off putting. As if my answer would somehow impact something else.

"Um, I'm still tired, but what can you do." I shrugged. "How about you guys? You seem a little tired too." I said as I observed the slight bags under their eyes.

"No, we're fine." My mother smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "Are you still hearing the voices?" she asked that as if she asked me if I had brushed my teeth this morning. It was a little too easy…maybe that's just them being supportive. I'd rather have that than parents who send me away.

"Not that much anymore. They come here and there now." I smiled, but shook my head, "Though I'd just wish they would go away." I grabbed a bottle of water and kissed their cheeks as I left to pick up my friends.

"You still look tired, but you look much more rested, Zakiya." Mimi smiled gratefully as she observed me from the passenger seat on our way to school.

"Yeah, your nightmares stopped now?" Sai asked. I had told them I was tired, because I kept having this reoccurring nightmare. For some unknown reason, I just have a gut feeling that tells me that I can't tell them what's really going on with me.

"No, but they eased up some." I smiled as I pulled into the parking lot. I looked into the rearview mirror to see Bobby smiling as he texted his boyfriend.

I am so glad that he has finally found someone. I thought he'd have to leave to do that, and I'd never want to lose him.

As soon as I was out of my car door, I was being hugged by a hot body that belonged to Jacob Black. For some reason unbeknownst to me, he has been watching me like a hawk these last couple of days…it was weird, but I let it go.

"Hey Jake, how are you?" I smiled, waiting to see his huge smile that always brightened my day, but I didn't get it. Instead I got this half smile as he examined my face.

"You're so tired." He whispered as he ran a finger over the bags under my eyes that I thought I had concealed well with foundation.

"I'm fine." I smiled. "Come on, let's get inside."

Grabbing his arm, I pulled him behind me as he greeted my friends. We all went to our respective classes, though Jacob held me in a hug for longer than usual. English and Spanish class crept by as I tried my hardest to stay awake. The bell jolted me awake and I gathered my things to go to Math.

"Stop looking at me like that." I winked to Mimi and Bobby as I walked away from them, noticing how they stared at me with concern while we were gathering our things to leave.

I walked into Math and saw Jacob sitting all the way in the back. I sat in the seat next to him while I stared questionably at his choice of seats for today.

"Well, if we sit back here, the other kids will block the view of you and you can sleep." He smiled my smile and I couldn't help the skip in my heartbeat or the flutters in my tummy as I laughed quietly and rested my head on his shoulder. The moment was even too sweet for my lady bits, which seem to be in overdrive every time I'm around him.

"Thanks, Jake." I smiled. When the final bell rang, all the kids were in the room, and he was right, they did block the teacher from seeing me.

I felt myself doze off as the heat from Jacob's arm comforted me. Him moving it to write notes didn't even bother me, I was that tired.

Unfortunately, I was jolted awake by the loud freaking school bell sounding for lunch. I glared at the chuckling massive body that sat beside, as it gathered it's things and mine to leave.

"Don't laugh at me." I pouted.

"Aww, what's wrong with the wittle baby." Jacob cooed while he pinched my cheeks. I slapped his hand away quickly, causing me more pain than him, I bet, before sniffing and walking away with my dignity and my head held high.

I couldn't help the small smile playing on my lips, though, as I listened to Jacob try and hold in his laughter behind me. I abruptly turned around and scowled at him when we reached my locker as I grabbed my books and switched them out for my next couple of classes.

"Shut up." I smiled and began to walk to his locker.

"I'm just teasing you." He laughed.

"Yeah, well, tease me on another day. Right now, I'm trying my hardest not to push your head into your locker and slam the door repeatedly." I smiled angelically. It was an empty threat, he and I both knew it, but it never stops me from making them.

Rolling his eyes, Jacob grabbed my hand as we made our way to the lunch room.

"You're way to violent for a girl." He smirked. I just rolled my eyes.

"Shut up." I sighed, but I couldn't hide the smile that crept on my face. "Are you coming to the art room with me?" I asked as we grabbed our trays and started to fill them with the unhealthy slop the school passed for food.

He looked over at his table full of his gigantic friends and saw Emory was sitting there and not in the art room with Sai. By the way, they have been getting rather close these past few months. Sai hasn't fully put down all her walls, but I can tell that she is really starting to trust Emerson.

"No, I'll sit in here today." I nodded as I kissed his cheek and left for the art room.

I walked in to see my Aunt Jeanie lying on her back on a long sheet of construction paper as Billy traced her.

"Um…I don't…" I shook my head in confusion as I sat next to Mimi.

"Mrs. Littlebear asked Bobby to trace her body. It's an assignment you guys are starting today in class." She shrugged as she took a bite of her chicken sandwich. At least I hope its chicken.

I nodded and started to eat as we talked about nothing in particular. When the bell rang, my little group separated with Sai and I going to history.

As usually, it dragged on, but I was more awake than I was this morning, so I could take notes for this class. The students filed out at the chime of the bell, and Sai and I headed to art, where we could finally find out just why Aunt Jeanie had Bobby trace him.

"Okay class, today we are going to learn about relief medium, because when you turned in your projects a couple months ago, some of you used it and it didn't capture how relief is supposed to look. Relief means that when you sculpt or paint something in this medium, you are giving the illusion that it's raising off of the background; kind of like pop up books. Now, in the back are five bins full of different types of things. I want you to pick a partner and get a sheet of construction paper, one of you is going to lay down on it while the other traces you. Now, you can erase and make the body be in whatever position you want it to be, but use the tracing as a scale. After that, collect four different items that are going to pop up from the page. You can paint whatever you want on the person, it doesn't have to be clothes, but it does have to flow with your items, meaning all together, the picture must make sense. Also, the items must be big enough that it completes a large section of your piece, meaning half the torso, a foot, the head, and a hand can be in relief, while the rest is painted, pastel, or drawn. The background on the paper must be filled in as well, and you can substitute parts of that to be in relief instead of parts of the person. We will be doing this for the next three days, so use your time wisely."

As soon as my aunt stopped working, Sai and I grabbed a construction sheet and laid it down on the ground.

"Do you want to be traced?" I asked as I grabbed a pencil.

"Sure." She laid down and spread her arms and legs open a little. I traced her as quickly as I could without messing up the lines.

"Okay, let's go look at the items and try and make a story out of it." I suggested as I helped Sai off the paper. We walked over to the bins and saw that they were filled with all types of junk, from different clothes, to wigs, wood, stuff you'd find around the house, fabric…it was just a bunch of things.

"Zakiya, look!" Sai said as she grabbed a tutu. "We do a Ballerina theme!"

"Good idea! We can draw a stage, and draw the ballerina in whatever position we want her in and go from there! Okay, lets grab more stuff." I said quietly, so no one else heard our theme.

I grabbed some wood, so half of the stage would be in relief. I saw Sai grab some pink fabric, so I guessed that it would be in relief to make the leotard. I dug through another bin and found some cool fake eyelashes, and that's when an idea hit me.

"Sai." I whispered to get her attention, "What if we make the entire face and hair relief?" I said as I grabbed a brown wig that we would do something with and some pink lace.

"How?"

I grabbed a few thick pieces of foam board and some more fabric before heading back to our table.

"Well, first we have to look up a position for the ballerina to be in. Then we draw that and start filling in from there. For the head, we are going to cut a couple of these foam boards in the shape of your head and glue them together. We'll use the sander to smooth it out some, then we glue the fabric to the head, so it will look like skin and tada!" I smiled.

"Sounds kind of hard." She frowned.

"Hmm, well, if it doesn't work out then we'll try something else, but I think it'll work."

Sai smiled, "Okay, let's do it!"

I looked up a ballerina on my phone, and found the perfect one. She was standing on point, leaning over as one leg was lifted behind her. The tutu fanned out around her body and her arms were spread out, as if she were trying to fly.

Sadly, the bell rang before we could start sketching. All we were able to do was erase the body off the paper.

"Okay, class, gather your materials and keep them in your locker. Put your name on your paper and lay them on top of each other on the back table. I'll see you tomorrow."

We gathered our things, deciding that we would keep whatever we picked out in our own locker, and put the sheet on the back table.

I stood by my car chatting with Sai as we waited for the rest of our friends, plus Jacob and Emilio.

I smiled when I saw Jake sauntering towards me. He knew that I knew that he knew that I thought he was good looking, but he didn't have to rub it in.

"Hey Jake, Emanuel." I nodded at his friend.

"Embry."

"God bless you." I said politely after he sneezed. "Where are you guys off to?"

"We're going to work, so I'll have to talk to you later." Jacob said, but I could see the distress in his eyes.

"Are you okay?" I asked concerned.

"Yeah, but you need to go home and rest, okay?" he said as he touched my cheek and kissed the top of my head. I nodded and watched as he walked away towards his friends.

A shiver ran down my spine with the way they were looking at me. It was as if…they were looking for something…waiting.

I shook off the feeling and got in my car with the rest of my friends. For whatever reason they were looking at me that way, it couldn't have anything to do with me. I don't even talk to them.

At least…I hope it has nothing to do with me.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So, what do you think? What are Zakiya's parents going to do? How will Zakiya feel about this? I really hope you liked it! Until next time!**


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